Abducted
by Serling
Summary: What happens when a Tmnt fan from our planet is abducted by Triceratons? Read on to find out. Note: Reviews are always appreciated. ;
1. Chapter 1

.Abducted.

.Chapter one.

It was quite a normal day for me; I mean I had woken up at seven and had gone to work at eight (work, actually, is at home seeing as I do a home based computer repair service). The day had flown by and I was just about to 'close up shop' (switch off the phone and lock the door that led into the office from the yard), when my parents walked in. They informed me that they were going to meet up with some of dad's work colleges for a barbecue and that my brother was going to a talk on falconry; they all wouldn't be home 'til late. I said that I didn't mind and walked out of the office to see them all off.

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After saying goodbye to them all, I walked back into the office and unplugged the phone. I had just picked up the keys to lock the door, when one of my dogs started to squeak to go out. I put the keys back down and went to the kitchen to see to the dog.

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After seeing to the dog, I returned to the office to lock the door. I was just about to reach for the keys when I heard something outside. I walked out to see what it was. I couldn't see anything from the steps so I closed the door tightly and walked out further. I heard the noise again; it was coming from around the corner of the house. I was just about to investigate when someone in a cloak grabbed me from behind. He put his left hand over my mouth to stop me calling for help and had pinned my arms with his right arm. I struggled a bit, but he just held on even tighter. His grip on me was getting so tight that I started to feel my lungs being crushed. I tried to use my leg to pull one of his legs out from under him, but he just pulled me up into his arms. He pinned my arms down to my sides with his left arm and he held my legs still with his right arm. I tried to call for help, seeing as he couldn't hold my arms down without letting go of my mouth, but another cloaked person gagged me before I could muster a sound. I noticed that my captor was wearing, what looked like, leather gloves, but they only had three fingers. I tried to look up at my captor's face, but his accomplice blindfolded me before I got a chance.

"Good work, Commander," said a very familiar voice.

"My pleasure, sir," replied another familiar voice.

"Now, let's go before anyone else sees us."

I felt the one who was carrying me start to run forward. So many questions were buzzing around inside my head, but I couldn't find any logical explanation for what was happening. I mean I _**knew**_ these voices and if these guys were strangers to me I wouldn't recognise their voices. Also there was a strange smell wafting about them, which smelt a bit like sulphur so I kinda figured that they must have a jar or something with sulphur in it. After all sulphur can be used as an ingredient in explosives as well as in medicine. Suddenly I felt the one holding onto me vault himself over the six-foot concrete wall that separated the main yard from the smaller office yard and then I heard his accomplice scramble over the wall.

"Slow down, Commander!" ordered the accomplice.

"Sorry, sir," replied the 'Commander', as he stopped and waited for his accomplice to catch up. Soon I felt him jump over the five-foot brick wall at the back of my house and then heard the accomplice jump over with a bit more difficulty than the 'Commander'.

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After running for a while, without being stopped by anyone, they finally came to a stop. I could smell that typical plant and wet soil smell, but that was very quickly covered by the sulphur. I figured that we must have been in the wetlands or at least near them because of the smell of the vegetation. After coming to that conclusion I tried to figure out who this could be, but logical explanations were still lacking in my brain. One thing I did know was that the sulphur smell only seemed to waft my way when the 'Commander' breathed out, but this little bit of information didn't help me much. Suddenly I heard the sound of, I was guessing, an air piston and then a slight metal 'donk' as something hit the floor.

"Come, Commander, we must get this ship going before any Federation scum find us," said the accomplice, but after listening to him order the 'Commander' around, I was starting to think that he was actually the one in charge.

"Yes, sir. This planet seems to be full of them," replied the 'Commander'.

"Put her into a holding cell and then come help me re-wire the control panel." I heard the… uh… whatever he was to the 'Commander' start walking on something that sounded like metal.

"Yes, sir," replied the 'Commander', as he started to walk onto the metal as well. It felt like he was going up a ramp, but only a small one because it only took him two steps to reach flat ground again.

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I was put onto a bench and had my hands cuffed behind me, then I heard a 'zzzt' noise and then clanking and plunking from, I suppose, the bridge area of this ship. How they planned to sail out of the wetlands was a bit perplexing, but that was their problem not mine.

"Is the damage extensive, Commander?" asked the guy who was in charge.

"Not at all, sir. We should be able to leave soon," replied the 'Commander'. I kept trying to place their voices and, being the devoted Tmnt/Triceraton fan I happen to be, started thinking of every voice I had ever heard on Tmnt. I started at season one. I went through all the voices in particular the ones that were deep or deepish. Soon I was at the end of my list of characters in season one so I tried to concentrate on season two. I thought of the Fugitoid, General Blanque, various guards and miscellaneous characters from episode 27 'The Fugitoid', but still none of them fitted the voices of my captors. So I moved onto episode 28 'The trouble with Triceratons'. I started listing voices that I hadn't already mentioned. Mozar? Ding ding ding we have a match. I thought for a second. "How could that even be plausible?" I asked myself in my head. After pinning the 'Commander' as a 'Mozar voice type', I went onto the other one who had blindfolded me. I decided to stay with Triceraton voices, as it would narrow my search for the time being, which would help me concentrate better because two certain captors of mine where now making a **huge** ruckus in the bridge area. I started to think of all the Triceratons in season two; there was Raz and Zed, Traximus, Monza Ram, The Triceraton All-stars, various guards, the ensign, Zog, and Zanramon. I thought about the last voice for a while, but to no avail. I had kinda forgotten the sound of my other captor's voice in the time I was thinking about all the different characters. I kept Zanramon in mind while I listened for the sound of my captor's voice. I didn't have to wait long.

"Commander, is everything ready for departure?" asked my unplaced captor.

"Yes, Prime Leader, everything is ready for departure," replied the 'Commander'.

"Good, then let's get going." I couldn't believe that this guy, who by the way sounded just like Zanramon, was also a Prime Leader like Zanramon. I also started to think about what else they had said. I remembered that they had mentioned a group called the Federation, which, apparently, was their enemies and that earth was full of them. My imagination started to act up on me. The Federation was the Triceraton Republic's sworn enemy. I shook my head to try to clear it of imagination and Tmnt fan-ness, but without success. The Federation was composed of humanoids like us here on earth and, if Triceratons were real, a Triceraton could easily mistake us earthlings as 'Federation scum'. I was disrupted from my thoughts by the movement of the ship.

"We're airborne, sir," announced the 'Commander'.

"Excellent! Now let's get off of this planet quickly, Commander," instructed the 'Prime Leader'.

"Yes, sir. Engaging the ion-burn." I knew what ion-burn was, it was a Triceraton term; but, logically speaking, abduction by Triceratons was like a never-in-a-million-years event. Suddenly the ship launched upwards and I was pushed into a wall by the force at which we were going.

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Soon after the initial launch we slowed down a bit and seemed to level out.

"How much longer until we reach the Triceraton home world, Commander Mozar?" asked the 'Prime Leader'. My eyes widened under my blindfold and my mouth dropped open at hearing this.

"Not long now, sir. If we keep up this speed we should be back in about one and a half helates," replied Commander Mozar. There was no two ways about it; aliens had abducted me. I thought about this and came to the conclusion that it wasn't too bad. After all I did know a bit about Triceratons, so long as what I had seen on Tmnt had been accurate.

"Excellent! It'll be good to get home," said the 'Prime Leader'.

"Yes, it will be," replied Mozar. I could hear in their voices that they were smiling.

"The atmosphere in here will be safe within two trigons, Prime Leader Zanramon," stated Mozar. I was speechless and not just because I had a gag in my mouth. I was actually with two of my favourite Triceratons of all time. Suddenly I remembered something from episode 29 'The Big House'. Triceratons breathe a hardy mixture of nitrogen and sulphur, to quote the ensign who was talking to the turtles, so that explained the sulphur, but it also meant that my breathing was going to become pretty difficult in the next two trigons (which is about six earth minutes).

"About time; this helmet is starting to get on my nerves," said Zanramon.

"Yes; I guess I'm just a bit more used to it than you are, sir," replied Mozar.

"I suppose so."

I could smell the air around me was starting to fill up with sulphur and nitrogen. I started to slow my breathing, hoping that that would help keep me from coughing, but, unfortunately, I could feel my lungs starting to get a bit irritated with the sulphur and nitrogen. I started to clear my throat.

"Three," said Mozar and Zanramon together.

My small throat clearing coughs started to get a bit more frequent.

"Two," they said together.

My coughs were now every three seconds or so.

"One," they said together.

My lungs wouldn't allow me to keep the coughs small any more and I started coughing quite hard.

"Right on time," said Zanramon.

"Humans are so predictable," said Mozar. I could hear someone coming towards me, but I wasn't able to tell if it was Zanramon or Mozar. I heard the 'zzzt' sound again and figured that it must be a force field or laser fence that had been shut down to allow the Triceraton to enter the cell. Shortly after the 'zzzt' sound I felt the lower right hand side of the gag being pulled up a bit by a claw and a tube was placed into my mouth. My coughing slowed down to just clearing my throat and then stopped altogether. Shortly after he had seen that I was breathing normally he put the atmosphere converter onto my belt.

"Can't have our hostage dying on us, now can we?" said Zanramon.

So Zanramon had been the one to put the atmosphere converter into my mouth and onto my belt; it was kinda sweet of him. I felt him pat my head and then he walked away. I heard the 'zzzt' sound again, this time for the force field or laser fence to be put up again. I made a mental note to stay where I was just in case it was a laser fence; I really didn't feel like being fried by it.

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The rest of the trip was quite uneventful, besides the fact that I had remembered that I hadn't locked the door. The one thing I didn't ever want to do was worry my family, but when they came home and found the door unlocked and me gone they might fear the worst. Unfortunately there was nothing I could do to change that; I was on my way to the Triceraton home world now.

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I was starting to get slightly bored of just sitting there blindfolded and gagged when I heard the main thrusters start to die down and the ship began to descend. I felt the ship touch down. There was an air piston noise and then a voice that I didn't recognise as any particular Triceraton, but it was a Triceraton voice none the less.

"Welcome back, Prime Leader Zanramon and Commander Mozar; we were starting to wonder if we were to send out a rescue party to find you," said the voice. I'm guessing that he had saluted to them and was now standing at attention while he spoke to them.

"Good thing we returned before you sent our troops out on a wild goose chase, Ensign," said Zanramon.

"Where were you, sirs?"

"On a little back water planet a few galaxies from here," replied Mozar.

"Oh," replied the Ensign.

I'm guessing he had noticed me sitting in the holding cell.

"Is she from there?" he asked.

"Yes, she is. Take her through to the prison compound, Ensign," said Zanramon. I could hear him and Mozar starting to walk away.

"What?!" I tried to exclaim, but it came out as a muffled squeak.

"The prison compound, sir?" asked the Ensign, obviously ignoring my squeak.

"Yes, why?" asked Zanramon, as he and Mozar stop walking.

"It's just that our prison compound is mainly full of convicts and she doesn't look like she could do too much harm."

"Well then what else am I supposed to do with her, Ensign?" Zanramon started to sound annoyed.

The Ensign was quiet; I guess he didn't have an answer for that one.

"Take her through to the prison compound, Ensign; she's a hostage so make sure she stays alive, understood?" asked Zanramon in a commanding tone.

"Y-yes, sir," replied the Ensign. I heard Zanramon and Mozar start walking again and the 'zzzt' noise of the force field or laser fence. Within ten seconds I felt a large hand on my shoulder, then my blindfold was removed as well as my gag. I blinked a few times to get my eyes used to the light again. Once my eyes were in focus I looked up and saw a tall Triceraton in front of me. He was the typical orange colour of most Triceratons, on Tmnt anyway, and had two lines across his left eye. I estimated that he was about 6'2" or 6'3".

"Come on you," he said gruffly, as he grabbed me by my right arm and pulled me up.

I stood a little shakily, but soon regained my legs.

"Walk!" he ordered, as he turned me to face the door and pushed me forward. I started to walk out of the cell, then out the door of the ship, then down the ramp and then onto the docking bay floor.

"What you got there, Garzu?" asked a Triceraton that was just in front of us.

"An off-worlder," replied the Ensign, who was apparently named Garzu. Suddenly he spotted a transport shuttle and steered me towards it.

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Within a few seconds he walked me into the transport shuttle and told the pilot to take us through to the prison compound. The pilot nodded and we started the journey through to the prison compound.

"Sit, off-worlder," commanded Garzu. I complied with him and sat down on a bench-like seat that was behind us. Garzu sat down next to me.

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Halfway there I looked up at Garzu with a questioning look on my face. He noticed my look and sighed.

"You'll be okay, little one," he said gently and quietly as not to allow the pilot to hear us, "I'll make sure you're put into a cell that has a trusted convict in it."

"Trusted convict?" I asked in a bit of a whisper.

"So you can speak," he smiled at me, but still kept his voice down.

"Yes, I can speak,"

He nodded and turned his attention back to where it was before he had spoken to me.

"Garzu," I said quietly.

He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Could you do me a favour?" I asked.

"What is it?" he asked quietly; he kept his head forward.

"Could you contact my family on earth and tell them that I'm okay?"

He thought for a moment.

"Your family's name?" he asked, still keeping his head forward.

"Swift."

He nodded and was silent for a minute or so.

"I'll try," He said, still not looking at me.

"Thanks," I smiled.

We were silent for the rest of the trip.

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Eventually we arrived at the prison compound.

"Let's go, off-worlder," commanded Garzu, as he stood up.

I stood up beside him and walked off of the transport shuttle and onto the moving sidewalk peaceably.

"Is there something wrong with her?" asked a prison guard who was waiting at the entrance to the prison compound.

"No, she's just very co-operative," replied Garzu, as he and I stepped off of the sidewalk.

"Will be a nice change."

"I'm sure it will be. I have a request as to whom she's celled with."

"Oh, and whom might that be?"

"Sleeg."

I recognised the name instantly; Sleeg had helped the turtles out in that one episode. Boy, Mr. Laird and 4kids were really getting a lot right.

"Right, I'll see to it. Come on, off-worlder."

The guard grabbed my shoulder and shoved me onto the moving sidewalk again. I looked back at Garzu one more time before he left to return to his usual sector. Now I had to be registered as an inmate and if it was anything like what happened in 'The Big House' it was going to be painful.


	2. Chapter 2

.Chapter two.

The guard and I came to a stop at a desk that had a rather bored looking Triceraton behind it. He looked up when we came to a stop in front of him. He sighed and was about to press a button when my guard told him to stop for a moment.

"What's wrong?" asked the Triceraton behind the desk; he obviously wasn't used to being stopped when he was about to register an inmate.

"I've been asked to cell her with Sleeg," replied the guard who was behind me.

"Right." The Triceraton behind the desk moved his hand over another button and pressed it. Suddenly a big contraption came out and down from the ceiling. I recognised it immediately; it was the 'tattoo machine' that had branded the turtles. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth as the tattoo was applied to my neck, seeing as my arms where covered by my long sleeve the only bare flesh was on my neck; I let out a small squeak of pain as the machine pulled away. Once the machine had gone back to where it came from the sidewalk started to move again.

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Within a few minutes we came to the cellblocks. I tried to read the words that were above the block we were about to enter, but Triceratonese is a bit alien to me. The guard took hold of my shoulder and led me into the cellblock. After walking halfway down the corridor, he stopped me in front of a cell door. He took out his key card and used it to open the door. Inside was Sleeg; he didn't look too upset at being interrupted from his… um… I actually don't know what he was doing. When we had opened the door we found him hanging upside down from one of the bunks.

"Good day, guard. How can I help you?" asked Sleeg, as he jumped down from his perch.

"Good day, Sleeg; you can help me by taking care of this little off-worlder. Ensign Garzu requested that she be put in with you," replied the guard.

"Okay. Come in, little one." Sleeg smiled at me and beckoned for me to come into his cell. I cautiously walked into the cell. The guard nodded and closed the door behind me.

"What's your name?" asked Sleeg, he said each word slowly to make sure I understood what he was saying; he did this because he wasn't sure if I spoke the same language as him. Thankfully I did.

"My name's Cal," I replied.

"Cal, huh?"

"Yes."

"Right. Why you here?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"That's what everybody says."

"No, seriously Sleeg, I was abducted by Prime Leader Zanramon and Commander Mozar. They brought me back here as a hostage."

"Why they bring you back?"

"As a hostage."

"I know that, but why? Who were they trying to escape from?"

"The Federation, I suppose."

Sleeg nodded at this and then went back to his perch and hung himself upside down again.

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It wasn't long after my introduction to Sleeg that our cell door opened.

"Food time," Said Sleeg, as he jumped down from his perch.

"Come, Cal," he said, as he took my hand in his and led me out of the cell.

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Once out in the corridor, Sleeg led me down to the mess hall.

"Now remember, Cal, desserts are the main commodity here; you can use them to buy and sell just about anything," explained Sleeg, as he handed me a bowl and led me down the line. I decided not to do a Mikey and stayed behind Sleeg; I imitated his every move, well almost. I think we'll skip the whole eating process. Sleeg's table manners leave a lot to be desired.

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After finishing our green slop that tasted like… uh… I can't quite place what it tasted like, but it was edible… I think. Anyway, after finishing our green slop Sleeg led me out into some sort of courtyard. Apparently it was the exercise yard, but it was also used as a space to allow the prisoners to stretch their legs after meal times. Sleeg led me over to a bench and told me to stay there. Apparently he had some business he needed to take care of with one of the other inmates. I didn't really mind; I kinda liked being alone. Also I was able to survey who else was in the prison. I saw quite a number of guards on the perimeter of the exercise area. They all looked very stern and rather untrusting. I started looking at the inmates and wasn't terribly encouraged by what I saw. I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts by a guard sitting next to me.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Hi," I replied a bit cautiously.

"You're the new kid here, right?" I wasn't too sure how to respond to this approach.

"Uh, yeah. I was registered earlier today."

He nodded and then turned his attention to the other inmates. I wasn't sure if I should try to start up a conversation with him or not, but he helped me make up my mind by talking to me again.

"Just so you know I'm not always like this to the prisoners," he said, as he leaned his back against the wall behind the bench.

"Oh, but then why are you making an exception for me?" I asked. I was hoping that he and another guard weren't playing good cop, bad cop with me.

"I don't know, actually. Maybe it's the fact that you really don't belong here," he replied.

"You new here too?" I asked.

"How could you tell?"

"You're not as stern and nasty looking at the other guards."

His cheeks went slightly red as he smiled at me.

"Thanks for the compliment, kid."

I nodded and returned to being silent.

"What's your name?" he asked. Obviously he was one of those talkative types.

"Cal," I replied simply.

"Cute name. My name's Zimmer by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Zimmer." I smiled at him.

"So, uh, who you celled with?"

"Sleeg."  
"You poor girl."

"Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say you'll be gasping for air once he's been into the exercise yard. That guy has some **serious** b.o or so I've heard."

"Thanks for the heads up."

Suddenly another guard called Zimmer.

"I've got to get going, but it was nice talking to you," said Zimmer, as he stood up and started to walk away.

"It was nice talking to you too, Zimmer," I replied.

He nodded and disappeared to meet up with his fellow guard.

"Who was that?" asked a voice from behind me.

"You back already, Sleeg?" I asked, as I turned my head to look at him.

"Yes. Come on, we better get back inside."

I nodded in agreement as I got up from the bench and walked back into the main compound with Sleeg.

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For the first two orbital-cycles I was there (that's about six earth weeks) not much happened. Although a guard had informed me that Ensign Garzu had been successful in contacting my family and that they had been informed as to my whereabouts. This kinda put my mind at rest about them. Also during these first two orbital-cycles I had been getting to know which inmates I could talk to and which I couldn't. Zimmer had also been giving me plenty of attention. When I was out in the exercise yard after meal times, either walking around with Sleeg or sitting on a bench watching the other inmates, he would be watching my every move with a slight smile on his face (for some reason he never seemed to tire of this activity). Occasionally he would wave a subtle hello to me, so long as he thought that no one else was watching. Though, on one occasion, he had been caught waving to me and was being questioned about it by one of his fellow guards; I don't think I've ever seen anyone answer a question so awkwardly before.

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It was coming up to Horn Sharpening Day and the guards were all looking forward to a bit of a holiday. By now some of the inmates that had been in the compound when I had come were gone because their time was up or they had been sent to the games. We also had some new inmates; apparently they had been in isolation because of something they had done, or so Sleeg told me. Among them there was a Triceraton. He was a tall Triceraton, about 6'3". He was a dirty orange colour (and no it wasn't because he didn't wash) and had dark lines in the grooves of his frill. He wore, what looked like, a Triceraton pilot's uniform with the sleeves removed and he had black gloves on his hands. He seemed to be a bit of a loner because of the way he kept to himself. If another inmate addressed him all he did was look up at them for a moment and then drop his head back to where it had been before they had spoken to him. I had tried to get him to smile by smiling at him if, by chance, he ever looked my way. Unfortunately my efforts were in vain; as soon as he was done looking my way his head would drop back to where it had been before he had made the effort to look around. I eventually tired of trying to get this solemn Triceraton to smile and just went on with life.

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It was just a week to go before Horn Sharpening Day and all the guards were giving their jobs 110%; apparently there was to be an awards ceremony on Horn Sharpening Day and one of the awards was for the most outstanding guard. The inmates on the other hand still acted much the same way as usual. I had finally settled into the routine of the compound and Sleeg didn't have to stick so close any more; which was kinda nice, but not on this particular day. Rynokk had been in a bit more trouble than usual and so wasn't in the best of moods. So when I accidentally bumped into him on the way out of the mess hall and into the exercise yard he kinda snapped. As he turned around to face me he growled viciously.

"No one touches Rynokk!" he yelled at me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I apologised.

My apology must not have been enough because at that moment he pulled my atmosphere converter off of my belt and out of my mouth.

"Give that back, Rynokk!" I commanded, as I tried to keep in the oxygen I still had.

"Make me," he growled, keeping my converter away from me. I saw Zimmer trying to come to my aid, but he was stopped by another guard who wanted to see the out come. I started coughing; I needed to get my converter back quickly. I decided to give Rynokk what he wanted; a fight. I started my attack with a roundhouse kick to his gut, but that didn't faze him too much. He countered with a punch to my chin, which sent me flying back into the mess hall. I slammed into a couple of inmates, but I couldn't be bothered about that now. Obviously kickboxing was out, so I decided to use another martial art I had been training in on him. I ran back out of the mess hall and back to Rynokk, who was waiting for me. My coughing was getting worse so I just went at Rynokk. I tried to land a punch on him, but he moved out of its way with ease. He then tried to deliver an upper cut to my chin, but I deflected it easily. As I deflected his punch I moved in closer to him and was able to snatch back by atmosphere converter. I hurriedly put it back into my mouth and returned the main part to my belt. Rynokk didn't look too impressed with me for retrieving my atmosphere converter and came after me. One of the first rules I had learnt in Krav maga (the other martial art I had just used on him) was not to prolong fights, but to get out of them as quickly as possible so I ran the other way.

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I ran into the mess hall and dived behind some trashcans, hoping he wouldn't look there. I had been hiding for ten minutes when I heard someone come into the mess hall. They began to approach my hiding place. I began to shake a bit; there was no way I could defeat Rynokk in a one-on-one match. Suddenly my trashcan barricade was removed and, where I expected to see a seriously ticked off Rynokk, I saw a smiling Triceraton. It was that Triceraton I had been trying to get to smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as he held his hand out to me to help me get up.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken and sore," I replied, as I took his hand and he pulled me up.

"You're the little off-worlder who's been keeping her eye on me ever since I got here; aren't you?"

"Unless there's another female Earther here, yeah."

"You took quite a beating from Rynokk. I'm impressed." He smiled a bit more. I looked up at him with a bit of an annoyed look on my face.

"It takes my getting beaten up by Rynokk to get you to smile."

He just shrugged.

"Well I ain't gonna go through that again just to see you smile."

"Wouldn't expect you to. Say, uh, what's your name?"

"Cal, and you?"

"Cloak."

"Cloak, hey?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Nice name."

He just smiled at me.

"Come on, Rynokk has been sent into solitary for what he did. You're safe now," said Cloak, as he put his hand in-between my shoulder blades and started to lead me back out of the mess hall and towards the cellblocks.

"Which cellblock are you in?" Cloak asked, as he stopped at the junction where all the blocks joined together.

"To be quite honest I don't know. Sleeg always led me back." I replied.

"Well look at the symbols above the doors. Which one looks like the one you usually see?" Cloak looked up at the symbols above the doors. I looked up at them and soon found my block's symbol.

"There it is. The second last door." I pointed towards the door.

"Ah, double zag. Come on then." Cloak started to walk towards the door and I followed quietly.

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Soon after entering the cellblock we arrived at my cell. Sleeg wasn't there so I guessed that he was still in the exercise yard. Cloak pushed me into the cell.

"Rest now, Cal, you've had a rough day," said Cloak, as he turned to leave.

"Where're you going?" I asked, as I sat down on my bunk. My legs felt like jelly from the adrenaline that had pumped its way throughout my body during my scuffle with Rynokk.

"Back to my cell. Why?"

"No reason."

"Would you like me to stay here until Sleeg gets back?"

"Only if you want to."

Cloak thought about the invitation for a bit and then decided to come and sit with me until Sleeg came back.

"So what you in for?" he asked, as he sat down on a bunk opposite mine.

"Nothing," I replied. He gave me a 'now tell the truth' look.

"Seriously Cloak. I'm only here because Prime Leader Zanramon couldn't think of anywhere else he could stick me," I explained.

"What's your connection to Zanramon?" he asked, as he swung his legs up onto the bunk and leaned back against the wall that divided the toilet area from the bed area.

"He's my kidnapper and I'm his hostage." Cloak just nodded at my reply.

"So what you in for?" I asked.

"Defacing Zanramon's statue," he replied with a bit of a smile on his face.

"Which statue?"

"The one in the Tri-sports arena."

"No way!" I laughed.

"Yes way," he replied, also laughing.

"What did you do to it?"

"Here's a picture of what it looked like after I had finished 'working' on it." Cloak handed me a picture of the defaced statue. I looked at it and found it hard not to go into hysterics. The statue had a decent amount of, what looked like, toilet paper on it; especially between the brow horns, a few splatters where overripe fruit had been thrown at it, and, to top it all off, a _**big**_ black moustache had been painted on its beak.

"So?" asked Cloak; he had a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Classic," I chortled.

"I couldn't find any whipped cream to put on the frill so I kinda had to do with what I could get my hands on." I handed Cloak his picture back.

"You might have received another year's imprisonment for that."

Cloak just shrugged; he didn't seem to care.

"So what were you before you became an inmate here?" I asked.

"A pilot."

"Really?"

"Yeah; I was one of the best, actually."

"Then why do something that could get you put in prison?"

Cloak just shrugged again.

"I guess I wanted to have a bit of fun," he said after thinking for a bit.

"Okay," I replied. His explanation sounded… plausible.

Suddenly we heard the sound of someone running down the corridor. Cloak got up and looked out of the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, as I started to get up from my bunk.

"It's just one of the guards," he replied; there was a cold tone in his voice.

"Is the girl with you?" asked a familiar voice.

"Zimmer?" I asked, as I walked out of my cell.

"Oh thank goodness," said Zimmer, as he slowed his run down to a jog, then a walk, and finally he stopped in front of us; he was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" I asked, as he tried to catch his breath.

"I'm fine now," he smiled.

"What were you running for?"

"After we had escorted Rynokk off to solitary I was looking for you and when I couldn't find you in the exercise yard or in the mess hall I started to get worried about you."

"Why do you even care about her?" asked Cloak, coldly.

"I have my reasons," replied Zimmer, as he and Cloak glared at each other.

"We're sorta friends," I explained, trying to break the tension building between them.

"So this is who you're waving to during our free time after meals," said Cloak with a mocking look on his face.

"What of it?" asked Zimmer; he started to get just a bit defensive.

Just then Sleeg and the other inmates of the cellblock started to come back in.

"Time for you to head back to your cellblock, Cloak," said Zimmer.

Cloak just snorted and walked off back to his cellblock. I watched him as long as I could, which wasn't too long since he disappeared into the crowd within a few seconds.

"Come on, Cal; back into your cell," smiled Zimmer. I nodded in agreement, walked into my cell and sat down on my bunk again.

"You okay after your fight?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a few bruises. I'll possibly just be a bit stiff tomorrow," I replied. Zimmer nodded.

"Thanks for trying to come to my aid," I said with a smile.

"Y-you saw that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It was very sweet of you."  
Zimmer just blushed and smiled.

"No problem," he said, as his normal colour started to return to his cheeks.

Just then Sleeg came back in and our door closed.

"What happened to you after the fight?" he asked.

"Went into hiding," I replied.

"Where?"

"Behind some trashcans in the mess hall."

"Good move. Rynokk wasn't happy that you had retrieved your converter."

I couldn't think of anything to say as a reply.

"But I'm glad that you got it back," smiled Sleeg.

"Why?" I asked.

"It would be very lonely without you."

"Thanks Sleeg. It's nice to know that someone enjoys my company."

"I'm not the only one apparently."

"Oh, who else enjoys it then?"

"There's a rumour going around that that guard who's always watching you and waving to you has a crush on you." This was unexpected news. I'm terrible at telling if a guy has a crush on me or not.

"I'm not too sure about that, Sleeg. I mean the guy likes me, but I don't think he like likes me."

Sleeg just chuckled.

"We'll see in time; won't we?" he said.

"I suppose so," I replied.

"Well, it's getting late. Time to go to bed."

"I hear that. Good night, Sleeg."

"Good night, Cal. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Don't worry, they won't be biting me anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"'Cause they aren't in my bed anymore."

"Oh, then where'd they go?"

"They migrated up to your bed."

Sleeg suddenly jumped out of his bed and checked it for bugs, while I almost busted a gut at his expression. When he saw that there weren't any bugs in his bed he shot a look at me.

"Good night, Sleeg," I laughed, as I turned onto my side and prepared to go to sleep.

Sleeg just muttered something under his breath and climbed back into his bed while I tried to get over a fit of the giggles.


	3. Chapter 3

.Chapter three.

The next day I couldn't move because I was so stiff. I guess taking on Rynokk wasn't such a good idea, seeing as I hadn't been practising my Krav maga or kickboxing much since I got onto the Triceraton home world. Sleeg noticed my inability to move and warned me not to. He promised to look after me until I could move again. I was very grateful for his kindness.

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Later that day, Sleeg went to the mess hall with all of the other inmates to get breakfast while I stayed in our cell. He had told me not to move before he went, but me, being my stubborn self, had to get moving again. My mom had always told me that the longer you don't move the longer the pain's gonna be there. So I decided to at least try to sit up on my bunk. Slowly and painfully I got myself into a reclining position against the divider wall, but then I had to rest to allow my muscles to stop screaming in pain. Just then I heard someone coming down the corridor. I could tell that it wasn't Sleeg because of the heaviness in the steps. Suddenly a very familiar face poked itself into my cell.

"Good, you're awake," said Cloak, as he walked in and sat on the bunk opposite mine with something in his hands.

"Hi Cloak," I smiled.

"Sleeg told me that you were a bit stiff today."

"That guy can't keep anything to himself; now can he?"

Cloak just smiled at me.

"So what brings you down here?" I asked.

"I wanted to see how you were doing and I brought you some breakfast," he replied, as he handed me a spoon and a small bowl of green slop.

"Thanks. You had breakfast yet or…"

"I've had my share of slop today."

"Right." I started to eat the slop.

"Sleeg was going to bring this to you, but I offered to bring it to you for him."

"Thanks Cloak; it's really sweet of you to do so."

He smiled at me.

"Besides it gave me an excuse to come see you," he said.

I returned his smile and I'm sure I had an 'aww it's so sweet of you to say that' look on my face.

"So, uh, about yesterday…" started Cloak, a bit uneasily.

"What about it?" I asked, as I placed the bowl on the floor with a wince or two of pain.

"Here let me help you up." Cloak put his hands onto my shoulders and gently pushed me back to my reclining position.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Cloak returned to his sitting position on the opposite bunk.

"So?" I asked.

"So what?" asked Cloak.

"What were you going to say about what happened yesterday?"

"Oh that, right."

"So?"

"I'm sorry about the way I acted with Zimmer yesterday."

"I thought there was a bit of tension in the air between you two."

He scoffed. "That's putting it mildly."

"So what's the deal with you two? Do you know each other from somewhere?"

"Just here in the prison."

"But that doesn't explain the way you two were getting all defensive towards each other."

"He just doesn't like me and I'm not too crazy about him myself."

"Why?"  
"The guy has been nothing but a jerk to me the whole time I've known him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"But that doesn't seem to be in his nature."

"You've only seen the nice side of him for _**certain**_ reasons." I picked up on his hinting about that rumour.

"Now don't you start too," I warned him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Sleeg's been going on at me about that rumour for most of the morning and I don't need any more people going on at me about it."

Cloak just smiled amusedly at me.

"It's just a rumour; doesn't mean that it's true," I said.

"I suppose so, but there is a way to find out," said Cloak with a smirk on his face.

"And what is that?"

"Flirt with him."  
"Say what?" (I used my 'Miley Cyrus' voice for that.)

"Flirt with him."

"Cloak, I don't have the faintest idea of how to flirt with a guy; I'm not the 'flirty' type."

"What are you talking about? You're a girl ain't yah?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I know how to flirt."

"Just bat your eyelashes at him; giggle at anything that sounds remotely funny, you know just…"

"Just make a complete fool out of myself."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Not gonna happen."

"Come on, we're all dying to find out how you two feel about each other." I just glared at him.

"Come on, aren't you itching to know?" he asked.

"You can't believe every rumour you hear, Cloak," came a cold voice from the doorway before I could reply. Cloak and I looked in the direction that the voice had come from and there, leaning against the doorframe, was Zimmer.

"Zimmer, what brings you here?" I asked, as he and Cloak started their starring contest again.

"I came to see you," replied Zimmer, as he walked into the cell and sat on the end of my bunk.

"Very sweet of you, Zimmer, but you didn't have to."

"I know, but when I didn't see you in the mess hall or out in the exercise yard I figured that you had stayed in because you were possibly stiff." Zimmer cautiously moved his hand over mine.

"Why don't I just leave you two alone for a minute?" said Cloak, as he got up and started to walk away.

"You do that," replied Zimmer, as he watched Cloak leave.

"See you 'round, Cloak," I called, as Cloak disappeared from my sight.

"Right," he replied.

There was a bit of an awkward silence between Zimmer and I.

"So," I said trying to break the silence, "you looking forward to the holiday in a few days?"

Zimmer smiled at me.

"Yeah, I'm going to be spending the day at home with my parents. Dad always has a hard time sharpening his own horns so I help him out," he replied.

"That's nice of you."

"I guess you don't have Horn Sharpening Day on your planet."

"No; unless you happen to be a rhino."

Zimmer just looked at me queerly.

"Never mind," I said.

"You're going to have to teach me about all your Earther sayings," said Zimmer, as he closed his hand around mine.

"I suppose so."

Another awkward silence ensued.

"Uh, Cal," said Zimmer, somewhat cautiously.

"Yes," I replied, a bit too eagerly.

"You know that **rumour** that's been going around?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Sure."

"I'm sorry if it's caused you some problems."

"Don't worry about it."

"Right."

Zimmer sighed as he released my hand and stood up.

"I'll see you 'round, right?" he asked, as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand.

"Sure; as soon as I'm able to walk comfortably again," I replied with a smile.

"Right; well, I… better get going." With that Zimmer turned and started to walk out of the cell.

"Okay." Zimmer waved goodbye to me and walked off down the corridor.

I decided to try moving again, but I was interrupted by Cloak coming back into the cell.  
"Where'd you come from?" I asked slightly startled by his sudden appearance.

"You're old enough to know the answer to that," smiled Cloak, as he sat down on the opposite bunk.

"You know full well what I meant, Cloak."

"I know, I know."

"So how did you get back here so quickly?"

"I was only in the next cell."

"Listening in on Zimmer's and my conversation?"

"Yes."

"Cloak!"

He just smiled at me as he swung his legs up onto the bunk, crossed his arms and leant his back against the divider wall.

"Cloak, you can't just eaves drop like that!" I reprimanded.

He shot me a stern look that silenced me.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

"A bit; thanks."

He nodded.

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During the following days Cloak and I began to become very close friends. After I had regained my mobility, which was only two to three days after my little scuffle, Cloak and I were practically inseparable. The only time we were forced to be apart was when we had to return to our cells. Sleeg no longer had to keep his eye on me because I was with Cloak during meal times and when we were out in the exercise yard for scheduled exercise and recreation time. Sleeg had also started teasing me about the amount of time I spent with Cloak; he reckoned that he could see more than friendship between us. I just ignored him; Cloak and I were friends and nothing more.

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Horn Sharpening Day came very quickly and I was pleased to see that our breakfast didn't consist of green slop; now it was white slop that kinda resembled oats, but didn't taste like it. Our breakfast was given to us in our cells since we would be spending the day in them so that our guards could have the day off. Zimmer had sent a note with the guard who gave Sleeg and me our breakfast. He was apologising for not being able to see me for the past week because he had been busy elsewhere in the prison compound; he also said that, as soon as he got back to work the next day, he would come see me. He was a very sweet Triceraton, but I was kinda glad that he hadn't been able to see me for the past week because of the way he and Cloak didn't get along.

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The beginning of the day was somewhat uneventful, but half way through the day I started to smell smoke coming through the air vents.

"Sleeg," I said.

"Yes," replied Sleeg; he was lying on his bunk not doing much.

"Do you smell smoke?" Sleeg sat up on his bunk and sniffed the air.

"Yes."

"Where's it coming from?"

Sleeg sniffed a bit more to locate the source.

"From the air vent," said Sleeg.

"Can you see out of it?" I asked.

Sleeg moved towards the air vent above the cell door and looked out.

"There's lots of smoke in the corridor," he said.

"Can you get out of the cell through the vent?" I asked.

"I don't have the lower body strength to kick it out."

I climbed up onto his bunk, gently pushed him out of the way, and then positioned my feet against the vent. I pulled my legs back at far as they would go and then gave a forceful kick to the vent. The vent fell out and Sleeg climbed through.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Go to the control room and open the cells to let everyone out," I replied.

Sleeg nodded and took off down the corridor. He was able to hot-wire the doors at the end of the corridor and started to make his way to the control room.

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After waiting a good thirty minutes I started to wonder if Sleeg would ever get the doors open. The smoke was starting to get thicker and my breathing was starting to get harder and harder (atmosphere converters apparently aren't made to filter smoke out of the air). I was starting to wonder if I should try climbing out of the air vent when someone busted the cell door down. I let out a squeak of surprise.

"Cal," said a familiar voice.

"Cloak?" I asked.

"Come on, (coughs) I gotta get you out of here. (Coughs.)"

"Thanks." Cloak took my hand in his and started to lead me out of the cellblock.

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Once out, Cloak led me to a small panel on the wall just outside of the cellblock.

"What's that?" I asked in-between coughs.

"(Coughs) It's a miniature control panel," Cloak replied as he opened it and pressed a big red button. He then reached over to a microphone and pulled to towards him.

"Everyone please exit your cells and head through to the transport shuttle docking bay in an orderly manner. That is all," Cloak said into the microphone and then he put it back where he had found it. I just smiled at him; I was impressed. Next he pushed and held a small green button and put his mouth near to a speaker-like thing.

"Sleeg, tell me when everyone is out of the building," Cloak said into the speaker-like thing; it was an intercom. Shortly after his call to Sleeg, Sleeg replied to us.

"Everyone is out except Cal, Cloak," said Sleeg over the intercom.

Cloak pressed and held the small green button again.

"She's with me; now get out and join the other inmates, Sleeg," instructed Cloak.

"Yes sir." Cloak then pressed a larger blue button and suddenly the sprinkler system started to pour down on us.

"Let's get out of here," said Cloak, as he started to lead me out of the compound.

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Once we were out of the compound we found the other inmates in orderly lines. Cloak told me to stay where I was and went off to some nearby hangars. While I was waiting for him to come back a very happy Sleeg ambushed me.

"I was so worried about you," said Sleeg, as he hugged me.

"Thanks for the concern, Sleeg, but, uh, do you have to be so physical?" I asked (I'm not terribly used to being hugged).

"Oh right, I should leave this kind of thing to Cloak."  
"Would you knock it off?! You know full well that Cloak and I are just friends!"

Sleeg just smiled at me amusedly; he **loved** getting on my nerves like that.

"Cal! Sleeg!" called Cloak; he had managed to hot wire one of the transport shuttles.

"Get in here!" he ordered.

Sleeg and I didn't waste anytime and ran over to Cloak.

"Sleeg, I want you to organise our fellow inmates," said Cloak, as Sleeg and I came up to him.

"Yes sir," replied Sleeg, as he saluted Cloak.

"Have them line up in their cellblock groups and enter the transport shuttle one cellblock at a time. This shuttle can only take two cellblocks at a time so we'll have to make several trips."

"Yes sir." Sleeg scampered off to organise the inmates.

"Can I help in anyway?" I asked Cloak.

"Yes, stay here with me," he replied.

I raised an eyebrow at his reply.

"I just want to make sure you remain safe," he explained, as he put a hand onto my shoulder.

I just smiled at him.

"Now come on, we've got to get everyone out of here quickly," he said as he led me into the cockpit. Cloak sat down in the pilot's seat and waited for everyone who was on this flight to get in.

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Soon Sleeg came in and informed us that cellblocks A and B had finally boarded.

"Right. Can you stay here with the other inmates while I drop these guys off at the temporary compound?" asked Cloak.

"Yes, I can, but come back soon; okay?" asked Sleeg.

"I'll be back within two trigons."

Sleeg nodded and then went back to stand with the other inmates.

"Strap yourself in, Cal," instructed Cloak, as he started the shuttle moving.

I nodded, sat down in the co-pilot's chair and strapped myself in.

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We had to make twenty-six trips to and from the temporary compound, but it went well. All the inmates had been evacuated and the fire department had been notified about the fire at the prison compound; apparently the fire alarm hadn't gone off so they were completely oblivious to the fire. Fortunately for them Cloak's putting on of the sprinklers had hindered the fire's growth and it only took them a few minutes to completely put it out. Meanwhile, at the temporary prison compound, Cloak took complete charge of the inmates; putting them into the temporary compound's cells and checking that they were all okay. Most of the inmates were put into cells with friends of theirs to help them de-stress from the day's events. Cloak had kept Sleeg and I together and, after he had checked that everyone was settled, he joined us as well. No one was terribly hungry that night so we all just went to bed early to try to allow our bodies to relax. For some reason I woke up later that night and was slightly startled to see Cloak on the bunk opposite mine. It was kinda odd having Cloak in the same cell as Sleeg and I, but it was nice sort of odd. I guess he just made me feel a bit safer; being in a new place and all. I shrugged the feeling off and tried to get to sleep again.


	4. Chapter 4

.Chapter four.

The next day I was woken up by someone walking around. My eyes fluttered open and, once they had accustomed themselves to the light that had been switched on, I saw Cloak pacing up and down the cell.

"Cloak?" I asked, as I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Good morning," smiled Cloak, as he stopped pacing and walked up to me.

"What's wrong?" He sat down next to me.

"Nothing; I do that every morning."

I looked at him as weirdly as I could, considering I was half-asleep.

"It helps with my circulation," he explained.

"Right," I replied, as I stretched.

"You sleep well?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Decently."

"Good."

There was a bit of silence between us.  
"Thanks for the rescue yesterday," I said.

"No problem," he replied.

"It was very impressive the way you took charge of everyone."

Cloak just smiled smugly.

"Where did you learn about that panel?" I asked.

"My dad was a prison guard for a few years and that panel was a major part of his job."

"Why?"

"He was the guard in charge of evacuations."

"Right; so were there a lot of evacuations seeing as the panel was 'a major part of his job'?"

Cloak chuckled a bit.

"No, but he had to make sure that it stayed in top condition in case there was a need for an evacuation."

"Right."

"He taught me the whole procedure of how to evacuate the prison; of course that was with all guards on duty. We had to do with no guards on duty."

I smiled at him.

"That's not true," I said.

"Did you see any guards on duty yesterday?" he asked.

"No, but we did have a guard's son with us and that's just as good if not better."

Cloak smiled at me.

"Thanks kid," he smiled.

"No prob," I replied.

Just then Sleeg snorted in his sleep; Cloak and I just looked up at him.

"He sure knows how to kill a moment," commented Cloak.

"You said it," I agreed.

"So what are we going to do while we wait for the guards to show up today?"

"Don't know."

Cloak set about thinking of something to do. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to think of anything to do because the guards showed up within a few minutes.

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Within half an hour of the guards showing up we were marched out into the transport area and lined up. A very important looking Triceraton paced backwards and forwards in front of us. Suddenly he stopped and turned to face us.

"Now I know for a fact that **one** of you took command of all the other inmates yesterday and evacuated them swiftly and safely; what I **don't** know is which one of you did so. So step forward if you were the one who took care of matters yesterday," said the important looking Triceraton. No one stepped forward. Just then someone walked up to me (I was on the edge of a line) and nudged me to get my attention.

I turned my head to look at who had nudged me and smiled when I saw Zimmer.

"You okay?" he asked in a whisper with a bit of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," I replied in a whisper.

"So who **did** take command of the inmates yesterday?"

"First answer my question."

"Uh, sure, what is it?"  
"What will happen to the inmate that **did** organise the evacuation?"

"They would be given their freedom again."

"Come again."  
"Their prison sentence would be terminated."

"Right."

"So who was it?"

"Cloak and Sleeg."

Zimmer scoffed at my answer. "Yeah, right. Seriously, Cal, tell me who evacuated the compound, truthfully now." Zimmer went down onto one knee so that I didn't feel too intimidated by him.

"I'm telling you the truth, Zimmer."  
He gave me a look.

"Aren't there security cameras in the prison compound?" I asked.

"Yes," Zimmer replied simply.

"Then why don't you guys look at the security footage?"

"Good idea."

"Zimmer, where are you?!" came a voice from the front. Zimmer shot up.

"Right here, sir," replied Zimmer, as he saluted the important looking Triceraton. I heard Cloak chuckle. Zimmer shot him a look.

"What were you doing?" asked the important looking Triceraton.

"I was just talking to one of the inmates, sir."

"Find anything out?"

"She suggested that we look at the security footage, sir."

The important looking Triceraton stroked his chin and smiled.

"Good idea," he said, "Return these inmates to their cells and then rendezvous with me in the prison compound control room." The important looking Triceraton spun on his heels and walked off towards a smaller version of a transport shuttle while the guards saluted him and started to march us back to our cells.

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After being returned to our cells, we waited for the results of the security footage. Cloak and Sleeg looked a bit worried about the whole thing.

"Why did you mention the security footage?" asked Cloak; he was a bit miffed to say the least.

"Yes; our prison sentence is long enough as it is," added Sleeg.

"Relax guys, nothing bad is going to happen to you," I said, reassuringly.

They both just gave me a look.

"How do you know?" asked Cloak.

"I had a word about that with Zimmer before I suggested looking at the security footage and I assure you that what's coming to you ain't bad," I replied.

Cloak sighed. "I guess being with you longer isn't going to be too bad," he smiled.

"Yeah, we've grown to like you. Some more than others," added Sleeg, as he gave Cloak a look. Cloak returned his look with a glare.

"Ignore him," I said.

"Right," replied Cloak.

Just then a guard came to our cell and opened the door.

"Cloak, Sleeg," he said.

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"You're free to go." The guard stepped aside to allow them to exit the cell.

Cloak and Sleeg just looked at him stunned.

"What are you two waiting for?" asked the guard.

"I think you need to remove their laser cuffs and tattoos, sir," I interjected.

"Oh, right; thanks." The guard pulled out his key card and pushed some buttons to make Cloak and Sleeg's laser cuffs and tattoos fall off.

"But why are you releasing us?" asked Cloak.

"You two are the ones who evacuated your fellow prisoners and the reward for doing so is releasing you. Now get going will you?" asked the guard, as he moved farther out of the way to allow Sleeg and Cloak to walk out.

"What about her?" asked Cloak, as he looked back at me.

"Don't worry about me, Cloak, I'll be fine," I said with a smile. When they didn't start walking I started to push them out of the cell. Cloak dug his heels in.

"I'm not leaving without you!" he stated, as he stopped himself from being pushed out of the cell.

"This is a first," said the guard, "a refusal to being let go. Now I've seen everything."

"He's just being stubborn," I explained. "Now, Cloak, please go." I tried to push him out of the door, but to no avail.

"Who's going to protect you from Rynokk when he gets out of solitary?" asked Cloak, as he turned and faced me.

"I can take care of myself, Cloak. Now go!" I said.

He just folded his arms and remained rooted to the spot.

"Can I escort him out?" I asked.

Cloak scoffed. "If I don't want to leave I don't leave," he said.

"That's what you think. Guard, could you reactivate his laser cuffs please?" The poor guard didn't know what to do in this situation so he just reactivated the laser cuffs on Cloak. Cloak's wrists sprang together when the cuffs were activated. I took off my belt and threaded the loose end back through the buckle.

"Don't you need that to hold up your pants?" asked Cloak, when he noticed what I was doing.

"No, they stay on with or without the belt," I replied, as I made a loop with my belt.

"What are you going to do with that?" I put the loop onto his muzzle and tightened it behind his nose horn.

"Hey!" exclaimed Cloak, as he tried to pull his head out of the loop.

"Come on you," I said, as I started to lead him out of the cell like a horse.

"Let me go!"

"No."  
"Fine, then I'll just do this." Cloak pulled his head up and started to back up.

"Oh no you don't." I jerked my belt down which brought his head back to its normal position.

"Maybe I should escort them out," said the guard.

"Good idea, but please return my belt to me when you've escorted them out," I said, as I handed the end of my belt to the guard. Cloak started to struggle again, but his attempts to free himself were in vain because the guard was slightly stronger than he was and it looked like the guard knew how to control Cloak's head with the belt. I walked back to my cell and waited for my belt to be returned to me.

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I didn't have to wait long; within ten minutes Zimmer walked into my cell with my belt in his hand.

"Hi," he said, as he smiled at me.

"Hi," I replied, a bit dejectedly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zimmer sat down next to me on my bunk.

"I guess I just miss having Sleeg and Cloak around to talk to."

Zimmer just smiled and rubbed his head against mine.

"Don't worry about it. You've still got me." He started to put his arms around me in a bit of a hug.

"I suppose so." Zimmer pulled his head away from mine so that he could see me.

"I heard that Cloak kicked up quite a fuss when he was told that he could leave; what was that all about?"

"He didn't want to leave me here."

"Oh, but how does the belt come into this then?" Zimmer held my belt up.

"I used it as a makeshift headcollar to lead Cloak out with." I took my belt back from Zimmer.

"Obviously it worked; he's out now."

"You're happy that he's gone; aren't you?"  
"To be honest with you; yes, I'm glad that he's gone."

I just nodded and looked away.

"I better get going before one of the guys finds me in here with you," said Zimmer, as he let go of me and stood up.

"Right," I replied.

"I'll see you 'round right?"

"You bet."

Zimmer nodded, walked out of my cell, closed the door and walked away. I was officially alone from that moment and I wasn't liking it. The only thing that made me feel a bit better was knowing that Sleeg and Cloak were out of prison. I put my belt back on and started to clean up the cell to pass the time.

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After an hour or so of tidying up, my cell door opened. I walked up to it and looked out; apparently we were being shipped back to our old compound. I followed the other inmates onto the transport shuttle and tried to find a seat far away from Rynokk.

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Once back at the old compound, the other inmates were sent back to their original cells, but I was placed in a solitary cell that was close to the control room. Being in a new cell wasn't too bad and, to keep me busy, I was given a bucket of soapy water and a scrubbing brush to clean my cell with. Trust me they did me a favour there; the cell walls were covered in green who knows what, but after I had cleaned it up I discovered that the walls were actually grey and not green as I previously thought. The head guard who checked in on me several times a day was impressed with my work or so I heard from Zimmer; he also came to visit me at least once a day. Zimmer and I started to become friends, but he wasn't the close and dear friend I had made in Cloak. There were days when I really pined for Cloak and, on very rare occasions, Sleeg, but I tried not to show it, especially when Zimmer came to see me.


	5. Chapter 5

.Chapter five.

It's been a week since Cloak and Sleeg were released from the prison and I think I've adjusted well. I still miss them, but Zimmer's trying to make up for that by spending **all **of his free time with me. I've been separated from the other inmates completely now so Zimmer usually brings me my meals; he also usually eats his meals with me.

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I was busy making my bed when Zimmer walked in with our breakfast in his hands.

"Morning Zimmer," I said, as I looked up at him.

"Hey; sleep well?" he asked, as he sat down on my neatly made bed.

"Yes."

"Here; mom said she added a few vitamin supplements for you." He handed me a bowl of porridge; his mother was quite a good cook and he used to bring me whatever she had made him.

"Thanks," I said, as I sat down next to him.

"So-o what are your plans for today?" he asked, as he handed me a spoon and started to eat his porridge.

"Well once we're done with breakfast I think I'm gonna remake my bed." I started to eat my porridge.

"Oh, did I…"

"Oh yeah." I don't like people sitting on my bed when I've just made it.

"Sorry babe."

"Babe?"

"My new nickname for you; like it?"

"Don't know; we'll have to see if it gets on my nerves."

Zimmer just smiled and continued to eat his breakfast.

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Later that day, after lunchtime, Zimmer came back to visit me.

"Hey babe, I'm back," he said, as he walked into my cell.

"So I see," I replied.

"So what have you been up to since lunch?" Zimmer sat down next to me on my bunk.

"Not much."

"I hope you don't mind, but Scooter got the guys and I some good seats at the arena so I won't be coming to see you for a few helates after this visit."

"I don't mind; it'll be good for you boys to get out for a bit."

"Thanks; I would have asked if you could come with, but the guys are already all over my case for just spending so much time with you."

"It's okay; you need sometime away from me so that you and the guys can have some serious 'guy time'."

"Thanks."  
"No prob."

"Lieutenant Narzor will be coming 'round to see you though."

"You mean just opening the slot in the door to check that I'm not up to any mischief."  
"No, he said he wanted to talk to you face to face for some reason or other."

"Oh, do you know what the reason is?"

"No, I would have told you if I knew."  
"Okay. Well, we'll see soon enough; won't we?"

"Yeah."

There was a bit of silence between Zimmer and I.

"We finally discovered what caused that fire a week ago," said Zimmer, as he broke the silence.

"Really? What was it?" I asked; trying to sound interested.

"It was apparently faulty wiring in one of the walls; we've brought in a technician to fix that."

"Right." Zimmer looked down at his watch.

"It's nearly time for the guys and I to head off to the arena." Zimmer stood up.

"Enjoy yourself, Zimmer."

"I'll try; the arena can sometimes be really bland."

"Well, **try** to have fun then."

"I will." He turned and walked out of my cell.

"I'll see you later at dinner," he said, as he readied his key card by the cell's lock.

"Right," I replied, as he waved goodbye and pulled his key card down in the lock to close the cell door.

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About two hours later, Lt. Narzor came into my cell.

"Good afternoon, Lt. Narzor; how can I help you?" I asked, as I stood at attention and saluted.

"Good afternoon, Cal; at ease," replied Lt. Narzor; he was a tall Triceraton, but not as tall as Zimmer and Cloak. He was quite an ordinary looking Triceraton; his skin colour was orange and he had the typical red marking on his eye. He was dressed in a dark green suit, which had a lieutenant's badge on each shoulder and on the front pocket. He also had an army hat on; his horns stuck through it, but it looked good.

"What brings you here, Lieutenant?" I asked, as he sat down on my bunk.

"Come sit next to me," he said, as he patted a space next to him. I complied and sat down in the designated spot.

"What would you say to a job here on the home world?" he asked, as he looked at me.

"Uh, sure; what did you have in mind, sir?" I asked.  
"Monza Ram and the All-stars need a towel person; apparently their old one couldn't stand being bossed about by them and left."

"What does the job entail?"

"Mainly janitorial and servant work."

"You mean I would be their maid."

"In a word, yes."

"Sure; how hard could it be?"

"That's what their last towel boy said."

"Well, I'm a girl; I might be able to handle it better."

"I suppose; so are you 'game'?"

"Sure; when do I start?"

"Immediately; I'll drive you down there now." The Lieutenant stood up and pulled out his key card. He pushed a few buttons and my laser cuffs and tattoo fell off. He opened the door and walked out with me close behind him.

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Lt. Narzor led me onto a transport shuttle, which took us through to the arena. Once there he led me out of the shuttle and down to the All-stars' training area. I now know why the All-stars have such strong legs; climbing up and down seven flights of stairs with twenty steps each everyday really helps build leg muscle. The arena was quiet because the games had finished for the day and everyone had gone home except the gladiators and the All-stars. It was then that I remembered Zimmer; he was going to be in for a shock when he found me missing from my cell.

"Lt. Narzor," I said.

"Yes," he replied.

"Could you please tell a friend of mine in the prison where I've been sent? I think it would help ease his mind."

"Very well. His name?"

"Zimmer."

"That's one of our guards."

"Yes, he's a friend of mine."

Narzor just nodded.

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Eventually we reached the All-stars' training area.

"Boys, you in?" called Narzor from the door.

"Yes, just hold on a minute, sir," replied a voice from inside the training area.

Suddenly a very familiar figure blocked the doorway.

"Monza Ram," said Narzor.

"Lt. Narzor," said Monza.

"This is your new towel girl, Cal." Narzor pushed me towards Monza Ram.

Monza just nodded and walked back into the training area. Narzor pushed me to walk into the training area. I walked in and was met by three pairs of eyes looking at me.

"All-stars," announced Monza Ram. The other three Triceratons looked at Monza.

"This is our new towel girl, Cal," he said, as he gestured to me. Suddenly the three pairs of eyes were back on me. Narzor pushed me to walk forward a bit. One of the other three Triceratons, who was closest to me, got up and walked over to me. He circled around me once and then took hold of my arm.

"She's a bit scrawny; ain't she?" he asked, as he looked at Narzor. I was a bit surprised that he had called me 'scrawny'; on Earth I'm big boned.

"She'll do," interjected Monza before Narzor could reply.

The other Triceratons gave him a look.

"We can train her to be able to cope with the work," he explained.

The other Triceratons just shrugged and returned their gaze to me.

"I'll leave you in the capable hands of the All-stars now," said Narzor, as he patted my shoulder and walked out of the training area. I was officially on my own now; Monza walked up to me, put a hand on my back and pushed me towards the middle of the room. I got pushed around a lot that day.

"So, your name's Cal; is it?" he asked.

I just nodded.

"Can you speak our language?"

"Yes," I replied, quietly.

"Good, then telling you what we need done won't be a problem."

I nodded again.

"Now, allow me to introduce my team-mates to you," said Monza.

I nodded and looked at the other three Triceratons.

"On my left we have Mixx and Xiote; and on my right we have Daz," said Monza, as he gestured to each Triceraton and they nodded in recognition.

"A pleasure to meet you guys," I said, shyly. They replied by a nod and then went back to what they had been doing before Narzor and I came in.

"Come, I'll show you to your room," said Monza, as he started to walk towards a room on the far side of the training area. He opened the door and walked in.

"This is where you'll be staying. You'll receive free room and board as well as five blecks a week," said Monza.

"Right," I replied.

"I had your chores list written up by a translator because I was told that you couldn't read Triceratonese."

"Thanks."

Monza just nodded.

"You are to start working immediately. Good luck," said Monza, as he left my room to return to his team.

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The work wasn't too bad actually; I mean doing laundry, washing floors, doing the dishes, bringing them their towels and water after training and events, and maintaining the training area wasn't as hard as I had originally thought. The All-stars were a bit stuffy, but I learnt to live with them. Mixx was a bit different from the others; he was the newest member and so wasn't as close as the other three who had been together for a few years more. When Daz, Xiote and Monza were out of the training area he would usually talk to me, but as soon as one of them came in he would be quiet. I still missed my old prison buddies; Cloak in particular. He was the first really close friend I had made on the Triceraton home world, but I discovered that I was missing him and the others less and less as the weeks wore on.

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Author's notes:

Daz, Xiote, and Mixx are not names I made up; they are the official names given to the Triceraton All-stars by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.


	6. Chapter 6

.Chapter six.

I've been working for the All-stars for two orbital-cycles now and I've gained the respect of the entire team; they'll actually acknowledge me when I walk into a room. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mixx has had a hand in getting the other All-stars to like me. My duties have now been extended; Monza thought that the manager of the team, whose name is apparently Burn, could benefit from my services as well. I now help with equipment management, keeping all of the paper work in order, and cooking for the team. Mixx was kind enough to teach me how to cook some typical Triceraton meals and he was also brave enough to actually try some of the 'Earth' dishes I made.

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It was well past the team's usual curfew, but they insisted on staying up. They had won their fiftieth match today as a team and so they wanted to spend a bit of time celebrating it. I wasn't as enthusiastic about fatigue as they were and so when my bedtime came I went to bed.

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I had only been asleep for about five hours when I heard what sounded like something snuffling in the training area. I knew that it couldn't be the All-stars; they would be put straight into hospital if they so much as looked ill. I got out of bed and went to see what was going on.

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I opened my door slowly; I could still hear the snuffling. My luck that the guys weren't there and so the training area was in complete darkness. I'm not entirely fond of the dark; anything could be lurking in it that could easily see me before I could see it. Also the light switch was on the **other** side of the training area by the main door, so I would have to venture across the training area to switch it on. I thought maybe if I sprinted across I could beat whatever it was to the light switch, but then I remembered the large amount of training equipment in between the light switch and me.

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Suddenly I heard the sound of cans being knocked over in the kitchen unit, which was just a few meters away from my room. I decided to just walk quickly from my room across to the light switch, but I wasn't going to face whatever it was unarmed. Monza had been teaching me how to use a fighting staff and had given me one of the team's old ones that was going to be thrown out to make room for the new set that the team had received. I grabbed my staff and then opened the door. I started to walk briskly out of my room with my staff in between me and whatever it was.

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Eventually I made it to the light switch and switched the lights on. Within a matter of seconds the training area was lit up. Then I noticed that the door had claw and teeth marks on it, I can't say that that encouraged me any. I started to walk towards the kitchen unit; it was in a little alcove on the same side of the training area as my room.

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When I got to the kitchen I switched on the light and readied my staff. I looked around, but couldn't see anything. Suddenly a sausage came rolling towards me and following it was what looked like a three-headed puppy. I remembered seeing something like him at the prison, just that one was bigger. Apparently Triceraton dogs have three heads instead of one. They kinda look like a cross between a rhino, a dinosaur, and a dog. The pup put his noses next to the sausage and pushed it; he was obviously enjoying pushing it around and then chasing after it. I just smiled at him.

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Eventually he grew tired of just pushing it around and started to eat it. I knew the guys were possibly going to have a fit the next day when they discovered that he had eaten it, but the pup looked like he wasn't more than skin and bone so I allowed him to eat it. It was kinda amusing to watch this little guy eat the sausage because it was about the same size as him.

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After he had finished eating he snuffled around to make sure that there weren't any crumbs left on the floor. When he was quite satisfied that he had eaten the whole thing and that no crumbs had snuck away from him when he wasn't looking, he noticed me. He looked at me and wagged his little tail; each head had a toothy grin on it, like that of our normal pet dogs at home. (I guess on the Triceraton home world our dogs would be considered abnormal.) He walked up to me and put his front paws onto my legs. I smiled at him and crouched down. I then held my hand out to him to smell; he sniffed my hand once and then licked it. I slowly put my hand behind the middle head's right ears and scratched him there. (Triceraton dogs have two ears on either side of their heads.) Suddenly he just collapsed and stretched his middle neck up towards me just like my dog used to do when I scratched her behind her ear. The other two heads had gone down to the ground; they also looked like they were experiencing the same feelings that the middle head was experiencing while I scratched him, but they just lay there on the floor looking a bit doped. I decided to see if I could pick him up; I put down my staff and picked him up gently. He didn't seem to mind it. I cradled him like I would an Earth puppy and I guess the combination of food and being scratched got to him because he went to sleep in my arms within a trigon.

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Now I was in a bit of a 'sticky wicket'; I couldn't just leave him to fend for himself and I wasn't sure how the guys would handle having a puppy in the training area. I wasn't sure if the guys even **liked** dogs, but I decided to risk it for the pup's sake. He needed a home and I had one to offer… sorta. I switched off the lights in the kitchen and in the training area and then went back to bed. I let the puppy sleep next to me because I didn't have a pillow to let him sleep on.

"I've actually got to give you a name; don't I now?" I asked the pup.

Of course he didn't reply; he just snuggled closer to me. He had brown fur and yellow markings on him so I decided to choose a name that fitted his colour. Bruno means brown so I decided to call him that. Just then it occurred to me that he might actually have a home already. I decided to try to find the owner first before calling him by the name I had chosen for him because it would just confuse the poor little thing. I resolved to just calling him 'Pup' until I was certain that he didn't belong to anyone. It was getting close to morning and I had to be well rested to be able to function properly so I put my head down and tried to get some more sleep before my alarm went off. As I started to drift off, Pup put his three heads under my chin and squirmed to get a bit closer to me. I pulled the blankets closer to him and he settled down. I smiled at him sleepily and then went to sleep myself.

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The next morning, I was half-asleep while I made the All-stars their breakfast. I had left Pup in my room with the door closed to prevent him from escaping; I had also removed my fighting staff to prevent him from chewing it.

"Here you go guys. Your usual," I said, as I put their food down in front of them. I tried to stifle a yawn as I stepped back from the makeshift table that the guys had rigged up.

"You okay?" asked Mixx.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," I replied.

"Why are you tired? You went to bed before us?" asked Xiote.

"Yes, didn't you sleep well?" asked Daz.

"You could say that, Daz," I said, as I started to walk back towards the kitchen unit.

"Cal, if there's something wrong, please tell us," said Monza.

"Nothing's wrong guys, really," I replied, as I turned to look at them.

They all gave me a probing look.

"Really," I said trying to reassure them.

I could see that they didn't believe me as they went about eating their breakfast. I was waiting until after they had eaten to tell them about Pup, they were normally in a better mood then, but Pup had ideas of his own. He was a very clever puppy and was capable of opening doors, as I had found out yesterday when I found the claw and teeth marks on the main door. He had just opened the door to my room and was about to come out to see who was new here, but I saw him before he could make a run for Monza and the All-stars and pushed him back into my room with my foot. I decided to lock my door to prevent him from coming out before the guys had finished their breakfast. He wasn't happy about that and started to bang his body against the door to try to open it. I was hoping that the guys wouldn't notice, but they did.

"What's that noise?" asked Mixx, as he walked up to me with the breakfast dishes in his hands.

"What noise?" I asked innocently.

"It's coming from your room," said Daz, as he walked towards my room.

"Have you been hiding something from us?" asked Monza.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I don't know; someone perhaps." The All-stars gave me that annoying teasing look.

I returned their look with a 'don't start with me' look.

"Let's find out; shall we?" asked Xiote, as he slowly reached to open the door. They all had their eyes on me to see if I would freak out or not. I remained as cool as a cucumber; I wanted them to find out about Pup so it wasn't any major catastrophe if they did open the door.

"Aren't you going to do something?" asked Mixx.

"No," I replied, as I went into the kitchen to stack the dishes.

"Oh, come on! It's no fun when you don't react," moaned Xiote, as he brought his hand away from the lock.

"Well, open the door anyway and find out what's making that ruckus," I said, as I came back into the training area.

The guys just looked at me.

Obviously they weren't going to be opening the door unless I was going to react adversely to it so I opened the door. Suddenly Pup shot out and fell onto his side; he possibly was about to ram the door really hard when I opened it. The guys just stared at the little bundle of brown and yellow fluff on the floor. Pup got up, shook himself, sat down, and then looked up at everyone who was looking down at him. Each of his heads looked at a different All-star. The All-stars were speechless.

"He came in here last night," I said.

"How did he get in? We closed the door when we left," said Monza.

"He knows how to open doors."

Monza looked at me.

"If you don't believe me, go look at the bottom corner of the main door," I said, as Pup walked up to me. I crouched down and picked him up. Mixx walked over to me and patted Pup on his heads.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"Don't know; I was going to try to find his owner before I named him anything," I replied.

"He doesn't have a collar on," commented Daz.

"That doesn't mean that he doesn't belong to anyone," I stated.

"It does, actually," said Monza.

"Oh, how?" I asked.

"When a dog is given to a new home it receives a collar for each neck; it's against the law for a dog not to have a collar on it. Possibly this little guy is a stray."

"I would prefer to see if anyone claims him before I make any other decisions about his future, Monza."

"Fine; I'll alert some of the soldiers. They're bigger gossips than most of the females here on the home world." With that Monza started to walk towards the main exit.

"Thanks Monza; I owe you one."

"You can repay me by helping me at the weights bench in a few minutes."

"Right." I put Pup back on the floor and he barked playfully at each of the remaining All-stars while he ran around in a circle. Daz and Xiote just smiled at him, while Mixx got down onto his knees and played a bit of gentle rough and tumble with him. I decided that he was in good hands and walked off to the kitchen to do the dishes.

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Later that evening, Monza went out to check with some of the soldiers that were stationed nearby the arena if there was any word about Pup, while Daz, Xiote, and Mixx stayed with me and Pup in the training area. Mixx had found an old relay baton and was using it as a stick to play fetch with Pup.

"I hope he doesn't belong to anyone," said Mixx, as he threw the baton for Pup again.

"Why do you say that, Mixx?" I asked.

"I kinda like the little guy." Mixx picked up Pup, who had returned to him.

"We would have to ask Burn if Cal could keep him," said Daz.

Xiote and I nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we could get him to agree by saying that Pup could be our mascot," suggested Mixx.

"A cute little puppy wuppy as the mascot for the fierce Triceraton All-stars?" I asked, as I gave him a weird look.

"Well, maybe a mascot in training then; when he's older we could use him as a mascot." Mixx held Pup up as he looked at him. Daz, Xiote, and I just smiled at Mixx and Pup.

"You're hooked on that dog; ain't yah, Mixx?" asked Xiote.

"Yup," replied Mixx, happily. He cradled Pup in his arms. I think Pup was a bit tired after playing fetch for about a helate because he yawned and went to sleep in Mixx's arms.

"Aww," said the whole team and me.

"Four part 'aww'; must have been cute," said Monza, as he walked up to the group.

"Hi Monza. So what's the four one one on Pup?" I asked, as I got up and looked at him.

"He doesn't belong to anyone. There's a soldier in each family and none of them have lost a dog. So if you want him all you have to do is convince Burn."

"Right." Getting Burn to agree to anything he hadn't thought of was almost impossible.

"Don't worry about him," said Mixx.

"Why do you say that, Mixx?" I asked, as I turned to look at him.

"When he sees this little guy his heart will melt and he'll agree."

"Hopeful, ain't yah?"

"Hey, weren't you going to think of a name once you knew he wasn't owned by anyone else?" asked Daz.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"He's not owned by anyone so you can name him now."

"I suppose so."

"Did you have a name in mind?" asked Xiote.

"Yeah," I replied with a smile.

"What is it?"

"It's Bruno."

"Bruno," mused Mixx, "Yeah, it'll work."

Mixx was really falling in love with Bruno; it was nice to see the softer side of the All-stars every now and then.

"So when do we spring the dog on Burn?" asked Xiote.

"How about now?" asked a voice from behind us. We all turned around to see who had addressed us. It was Burn.

"Well, where did he come from?" he asked, tapping his foot.

"He snuck in here last night," explained Mixx. Burn just eyed him suspiciously.

"It's the truth, Burn," said Daz.

"You boys aren't known for lying so I'm going to believe you for now," said Burn.

"Thanks Burn," smiled Monza.

"Now, what's his name?"

"Bruno," chorused the All-stars and me.

"Bruno, nice; it sounds tough," smiled Burn.

"Does this mean you'll let Cal keep him?" asked Mixx.

"Yeah, we need a mascot. Did you know that the Yznical team is using an Yznical cat as their new mascot?"

The guys and I shook our heads.

"I was going to buy a dog to be our mascot, but it seems like this little guy has just saved us a few blecks," said Burn, as he walked up to Mixx and stroked Bruno's heads gently. Bruno didn't even wake up he was so tired.

"Monza, come with me through to the market, we need to pick up a few things," said Burn, as he started to walk away.

"Coming Burn. I'll see you guys later," said Monza, as he started to follow Burn out of the training area.

"Looks like we've got a new team mate," Mixx grinned.

"Yeah, it seems like it," smiled Xiote, as he ruffled the fur on Bruno's heads.

"At least he's got a home now," I smiled.

"I guess so. You are prepared to take care of him; aren't you?" asked Mixx, as he looked at me.

"Of course, unless you want to take care of him," I replied.

"No, I'm happy to just be his playmate."

"Right."

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When Burn and Monza came back from the market we discovered that they had gone shopping for a few things for Bruno. Being with the All-stars is possibly one of the best things that could have happened to that dog. He was given a playpen in one corner of the training area, each of the All-stars spent a good helate or so with him each day, even Burn spent a good while playing with him and training him. I was the one who had to feed, water, clean up after, and exercise him, but I didn't mind; he was a sweet puppy who learnt everything he was being taught quickly. Unfortunately my working hours were getting longer, but that's what happens when more responsibilities are given to you.


	7. Chapter 7

.Chapter seven.

It has been an orbital-cycle since Bruno joined the team and he has settled in nicely. The All-stars are thoroughly enjoying having him in the training area and he's enjoying all of the attention and table scraps he keeps getting; I'm sure he gets fed more of the food I make for the All-stars than they do.

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I had just fed Bruno in his playpen and was now starting to sweep the corridor that led to the training area from the transport shuttle-docking bay (it was one of my chores). I had swept half of the corridor when I bumped into someone behind me.

"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going," I apologised, as I spun 'round with head down and my eyes closed; I didn't want to see an angry Triceraton, been there, done that, don't want to go back.

"It's okay; no harm done," said a charming young voice. I opened my eyes and looked up at who had just spoken to me. It was a young Triceraton; he was younger than Cloak and the All-stars. Surprisingly he looked younger than Zimmer and Zimmer was about twenty-two. He was about 6'1", orange in colouration, and he didn't have a single marking on him (the only way I can kinda tell Triceratons apart if they're not talking is by their markings and unfortunately there were a lot of Triceratons that didn't have distinguishable markings on them). His attire was different from the other Triceratons I've met; he was dressed in a blue uniform that was a bit dirty, particularly around his shins.

"What are you doing sweeping the corridor? That's my job," he said, as he noticed the broom in my hand.

"Your job?" I asked, a bit perplexed.

"Yeah, I was hired to do it yesterday."

"By who?"

"Burn, the manager of the All-stars; apparently the person who usually does it is a bit too busy with the team's new mascot."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"That was nice of him."

"I guess. So what are you doing sweeping my corridor?"

"It used to be my job."

"So you're the one taking care of that puppy."

"Yes."

"Right. So your name is?"

"Cal; and you?"

"Zap."

"Nice name."

"Thanks, your name ain't half bad either."

I just smiled at him.

"So what's it like working with the All-stars?" he asked, as he leaned against his broom.

"Pretty much the same as working with any other group of Triceratons."

"Right; I guess seeing them day in and day out does become a bit monotonous."

"Not really; they actually don't spend a lot of time in the training area."

"Oh, but surely they train in there."

"Yes, they do, but they spend more time training out in the arena. They'll occasionally spend the whole day in the training area, but that's usually only when they have a match coming up the next day or when they want to spend time with their new mascot."

"Right, so working with the All-stars is kinda neither here nor there."

"Most of the time yes, but now that we have Bruno it's a bit more interesting."

"Right. Well, I better get back to sweeping; Burn doesn't pay me to stand around and chat with his other employees."

"Right. Don't strain yourself sweeping this place, okay?" I turned to leave Zap to his work.

"Okay; will I see you 'round?"

"Perhaps."

He just smiled and went back to sweeping while I started to head back to the training area.

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Later that day, after the guys and Burn had finished lunch, I decided to have a word with Burn about his hiring Zap.

"Uh, Burn," I said, as I walked up to him. He was busy watching three of the All-stars playing a game of three-way keep away with Bruno; they were throwing a yellow tennis ball like thing to each other and Bruno was trying to catch it before one of the All-stars did.

"Yeah," replied Burn, a bit disinterestedly.

Before I could say anything a small alarm sounded from Burn's watch.

"Sorry, Cal, but I've got to try to convince my All-stars that we need to go practise in the main arena without Bruno." Burn started to walk towards the All-stars who were playing with Bruno.

"Right." I was a bit miffed that I hadn't been able to talk to Burn about Zap.

"Uh, could you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what?"

"Find Monza; I need him to train with these guys too."

"Okay." With that I walked out of the training area to find Monza.

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It didn't take me long to locate Monza, he was just down the corridor talking to Zap. I walked up to the two Triceratons.

"Oh, hey Cal," smiled Zap, as he saw me approaching him and Monza.

"Hi Zap," I smiled.  
"So what brings you back here?"

"I've been asked to retrieve Monza."

"What for?" asked Monza.

"Burn wants you and the guys to practise in the arena."

"Right. Well, I'll see you 'round, Zap." Monza put a hand onto Zap's shoulder.

"You bet, Monza," replied Zap with a smile.

Monza nodded and walked off back to the training area.

"You doing anything now?" asked Zap before I could make a move to follow Monza. I looked around to make sure it was me he was talking to.

"Me?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his question.

"Yeah, are you busy at the moment or are you free for the rest of the evening?"

"I've still got a bit of work that needs to be done, but it shouldn't take long; why are you asking me if I'm free or not anyway, Zap?"

"I was just thinking that, if you weren't busy, we could spend some time together; you know get to know each other a bit better."

"Why?" I was starting to get a bit suspicious of Zap.

"Well, we'll be working together now and I kinda like to know a bit about my fellow employees."

"What do you mean 'we'll be working together now'?"

"Didn't the guys and Burn tell you?"

"No, what?"

"I've been hired to become an assistant to the All-stars. I'll be working along side you in the training area."

"Doing what?"

"Just helping out where I can and sweeping the corridor."

"Right, when did this happen?"

"While I was walking back to my house earlier. Burn stopped me and asked me if I would like to become an assistant to the All-stars; fortunately I knew what I was getting myself in for from what I had gathered from you."

"Right."

"You don't mind a roommate do you?"

"Say what?" My eyes went wide. Having him working alongside me was fine, but sharing a room with him, I don't think so; it goes against every moral fibre.

"Relax, I was just razzing you," he chortled.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll be staying nearby though; just in the next tribase," he said with a smile.

"Right; when do you start?" I asked.

"Tomorrow, so I'll see you early tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Right."

Just then Burn called me from the training area.

"Coming!" I replied.

"I'm not looking forward to that," commented Zap.

"You get used to it," I smiled.

"Cal!" bellowed Burn again.

"Get going; I don't want you to get into trouble," said Zap, as he pushed me to walk.

"Right; see you later," I said, as I started to jog back to the training area.

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Once back in the training area, I found Burn with his arms folded and tapping his foot.

"Well?" he asked.

"I got held up," I replied.

"Right, now I wanted to inform you about…"

"About your new employee?"

"How did you?"

"Zap told me just a few minutes ago."  
"Right."

I gave Burn a 'why didn't you tell me' look.

"I was going to tell you earlier, but I got side-tracked," said Burn.

"I think you need to get a memo pad or something like it," I replied.

"Yeah, anyway he's trained to be a soldier, but didn't make it into the ranks because of some reason or other."

"And this is important because?"

"Because he's going to be working with the All-stars a lot so you don't have to worry about him getting in your way."

"Right."

"He will be spending a bit of time here with you, but he'll be busy doing advanced maintenance on the equipment and training area in general."

"Okay."

"And you can relax about having your privacy invaded; he'll be staying on a tribase that is just next door to us."

"Thanks for the info."

"No problem; now we've got to get going and I think you still have work to do."

"Yes sir."

"Come on, All-stars, we've got practising to do. If you can make it through the next ten matches we're going to the Inter-Galactic Fighting Tournament on Shiniza 8." Burn walked out of the training area and started to walk towards the arena.

"We'll see you later for dinner," said Mixx, as he and the other All-stars started to follow their manager out of the training area.

"Okay; have a good practise session boys," I said, as they walked out of the training area.

"We will," replied four voices.

I just smiled and started to work on my last chores of the day.

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I had just finished giving Bruno his dinner when I heard someone knock at the training area door.

"Who is it?" I asked, as I walked towards the door.

"Zap. You busy still?" came Zap's voice from the other side.

"I'm just waiting for the All-stars dinner to cook. Why?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." I hadn't even finished saying 'sure' and Zap was in the door.

"Why didn't you just come in anyway?" I asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were finished working before I came in," he replied.

"Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you and some people have a bit of trouble talking when they're busy working."

"Very considerate of you, Zap, but I'm one of those people who can work and talk at the same time."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind."

Just then Bruno barked; he was excited to see a new face.

"That Bruno?" asked Zap.

"Yeah, the second newest member to the team," I replied, as I watched him walk over to Bruno.

"Right. He's quite the cute little thing."

"And he knows it."

"What do you mean?"

"If he gets in trouble with one of the guys, he just puts on the 'puppy dog pout' and they can't stay mad at him for long."

"Sounds typical of dogs."

"Tell me about it." I sat down on a nearby bench.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself." Zap walked over to me and sat down next to me.

"What do you want to know?"

"How did you get to be on the home world?"

"I was kidnapped by Zanramon and Mozar to be their hostage."

"Right, and what happened after that?"

"I was sent to the prison compound."

"I heard that a fire started in it on Horn Sharpening Day; is that true?"

"Yes."

"Then you were in it during that time."

"Yes, a friend of mine evacuated the whole prison and transported us to the temporary prison compound."

"Right and what happened after that?"

"I was put into solitary back at the old prison compound and shortly after that I was hired by the All-stars to be their maid."

"Right; what was your friend's name?"

"The one who evacuated the prison?"

"Yes; why? Did you make more than one friend?"

"Yes, I made three friends in prison."

"Okay, what were your friends' names?"

"My first friend was Sleeg, he was my cellmate."

"You don't have a problem with sharing a room with Sleeg, but you have a problem with sharing a room with me?"

"I didn't have a choice and besides I don't know if I can trust you."

"But you trust a convict."

"He was a trusted convict; Ensign Garzu requested that I be put in with him."

"Right."

"How do you know Sleeg?"

"He was working for my dad not too long ago."

"Really?"  
"Yeah, he was saving up money to head back to his home planet, which is where he is now."

"Good."

"He frequently talked to me about some girl he had met in prison."

"Sounds like Sleeg."

"He also told me about two Triceratons that she took a bit of a fancy to."  
"Now hold on there; I didn't take a 'fancy' to anyone. Sleeg always thought that I had, but I hadn't."

"Okay, okay simmer down; I'm just telling you what he told me." Zap put his hands up in defence.

"Did he tell you their names?"

"Yeah, Cloak and Zimmer. The one was a fellow inmate and the other was a guard; I just can't remember which was which."

"Zimmer was the guard and Cloak was the fellow inmate."

"Right, so did you have a crush on either of them?"

"No." I had a bit on indignation in my voice.

"Okay, okay, chill; I was just double checking."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. So were you close to any of them?"

"Cloak and I were almost inseparable."

"And Sleeg and Zimmer?"

"I don't know what it was about them, but I never formed the same bond with them that I had formed with Cloak. Maybe it was the way they annoyed me at times."

"Maybe."

My mind went back to the days when Cloak and I were still together; I hadn't been thinking of him for quite a while now.

"You okay?" asked Zap, as he noticed my spaced out look.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping back to reality.

"You okay? You look a bit spaced."

"I'm fine, just thinking."

"Okay."

Just then the timer on the oven went off.

"I better get that before it burns," I said, as I got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"Right," said Zap, as he got up and followed me.

"Now that you know my story what's yours?" I asked, as I started to get the All-stars dinner out of the oven and into the warming drawer.

"Nothing spectacular," replied Zap.

"Come on just give me a brief description then."

"Okay; I'm the son of a merchant."

"A merchant of what?"

"He supplies the rations for the army and just sells food in general."

"Right. What else has happened in your life?"

"I was trained to be a soldier, but I didn't make the cut for various reasons."

"What reasons?" I leaned against the kitchen counter.

"I would rather not talk about them."

"Okay."

"And my first job was sweeping the streets down in the tribase I live in."

"Right. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child."

"Friends?"

"I have a few."

"Could you name them?" I started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Sure, there's Bruno…"

"I meant besides the dog, me and the All-stars."

"No really I've got a friend named Bruno; he's a huge soot black Triceraton."

"Oh, sorry I didn't realise…"

"It's okay."

"Thanks, so anyone else?"

"There's Turbo, Ac, Dc, Jet, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Zarak."

"Wow, you've got quite a posse."

Zap just shrugged.

Just then the All-stars came back in looking a bit worse for wear.

"What happened to you guys?" asked Zap.

"Burn," replied the All-stars and me in unison.

"O-kay, I better get going; mom will kill me if I'm late for dinner again."

"Okay, take care on your way home, Zap," I smiled.

"Will do." With that he took off out of the training area.

"What do you think of him?" asked Mixx, as he and the other All-stars sat down at their makeshift table.

"He's nice enough," I replied, as I fetched their dinner out of the warming drawer and started to dish it up onto their plates.

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When I walked up to them with their dinners on a tray I noticed that they all had that annoying teasing face on.

"Don't start with me, boys," I warned, as I placed their dinners in front of them.

"Why not?" asked Monza.

"I don't get crushes that easily."

"Right, but just so you know he is the same age as you?"

"He's eighteen?"

"Nineteen, but close enough."

"This change your perception of him?" asked Xiote.

"No, he's just a nice guy that I happen to be working with; just like you boys," I replied, as I walked off back to the kitchen.

The All-stars just smiled at me and went about eating their dinner.

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The rest of the evening was business as usual, but I was secretly looking forward to tomorrow; having someone else in the training area to talk to, even if it was just for a few minutes, was going to hopefully be enjoyable.


	8. Chapter 8

.Chapter eight.

The next day I was up at five, a helate earlier than usual, to make sure that I wasn't taken by surprise by Zap. Bruno didn't mind; he thought it was great fun waking up at an unusual hour. Fortunately Zap only showed up at seven, a helate after the usual time I wake up; he seemed to be in a good mood that morning and he wasn't wearing his blue uniform today. Now he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt (think of the Triceraton All-stars minus the armour, but plus a white T-shirt).

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, as he walked up to me in the kitchen.

"Good morning, and who said that you could come in without permission?" I asked playfully.

"What? You got a problem with me coming in without permission?" He had a playful smile on his face.

"No."

"Good."

"You're pretty good a picking up on playfulness." I, on the other hand, take things more seriously.

He just shrugged.

"You had breakfast yet?" I asked.

"No, I actually haven't," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"Would you like me to make you something?"

"If you're not too busy doing anything else."

"I'm going to be making my breakfast in a minute so it won't be any trouble at all, Zap."

"Thanks. So how's Bruno?"

"Fine; he enjoyed getting up early today."

"Why did you get up early today?"

"I didn't want to be caught by surprise."  
"By who?"

"You. I didn't know what time you would be coming in so I got up early to make sure that I was decent before you arrived."

"What time do you usually get up?"

"Six or so."

"Right. Well, you don't have to worry anymore; I was told to only come in at seven and I'll be taking advantage of every available minute of sleep that I can."

I just smiled at him.

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After breakfast, Zap set about inspecting the training area while I cooked breakfast for the All-stars.

"How long has this been like this?" asked Zap, he was busy looking at a shelving unit, which held a lot of the equipment used by the All-stars.

"A while. Why?" I asked, as I shoved a dish into the oven.

"You guys are lucky that it hasn't broken yet."

"Oh." I closed the oven and walked up to him.

"Yeah, there aren't enough supports here to hold this load. We wouldn't happen to have some extra brackets lying around would we?"

"There might be some in the maintenance closet."

"Where's that?"

"I'll show you." I started to walk towards a little room to the side of the training area.

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The room was about the size of a large garage and it was dark like one because it didn't have any lights in it. I walked towards a large closet at the other end of the room.

"This is it," I said, as I opened the doors. Unfortunately some of the items hadn't been packed away well and an avalanche of various maintenance materials came crashing out. It was too late to move so I covered my head with my arms to protect myself, but I was suddenly pulled out of the way. There was a loud crash as the avalanche came down.

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Once I was certain that I was safe I opened my eyes and partially pushed myself up with my arms. I looked back at the pile of various maintenance materials.

"You okay?" asked Zap. Only then did I realise that I was on top of him; he had pulled me out of the way with such force that he had lost his own balance and ended up falling over backwards with me on top of him. My arms were against his chest, only just keeping our heads apart.

"Zap, you…" I started, as I looked down at him.

"Hey, I couldn't let you get hurt," he smiled; it was almost like he was enjoying being so close to me. I was still in a bit of shock from what had just happened so he helped me off of him and then he sat up next to me.

"Thanks," I said softly.

"No problem," he replied with a pleased smile.

I shook my head to get my thoughts straight and stood up.

"You okay?" he asked again, as he stood up next to me, there was a slight look of concern on his face now.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," I replied, as I put my hand to my head to smooth out any ruffled hair.

"Good." Just then I noticed some shelving brackets on top of the pile that would have covered me had Zap not yanked me out of the way.

"There're your brackets," I said, as I retrieved them for him.

"Thanks," he smiled, as he took them from me. I was a bit taken aback by his hand going over mine when he took the brackets from me; I mean there was plenty of room for him to grab them elsewhere. It was almost like he deliberately made sure his hand went over mine, but maybe I was just still in shock and was misinterpreting his actions; after all I'm a **bit** of a romantic at heart. I hadn't looked at him when he had taken the brackets from me and still wasn't looking up at him, but I felt him looking at me. I cautiously looked up at him and he had a relatively pleased smile on his face and his eyes were partially closed. Before I could ascertain his true attitude, now that I was out of shock, the oven timer went off.

"I better go get that," I said, as I looked out of the door towards the kitchen.

"Right," replied Zap.

I started to walk towards the entrance to the room with Zap close behind me.

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Later, after the All-stars had had their breakfast, they set off with Zap for the arena to practise. I was kinda glad to be alone; I had to figure out what was going on. Was Zap really being sweet on me or was I just developing a crush on the guy? Before I could continue my thoughts a certain puppy whined to go for his walk. My thoughts would have to wait for a bit. I went into my room to fetch Bruno's lead.

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When I re-emerged with his lead in my hand Bruno went crazy in his playpen, barking, running in circles, standing on his hind legs, and wagging his tail furiously.

"Okay, okay you little cutie, chill," I laughed, as I put his lead on. I lifted him out of his playpen and placed him on the floor. He ran in a circle and then started to run for the door.

"Good thing the guys got you an extending lead, boy," I said, as I walked after him. I shortened the lead and locked it in place because I didn't want him weaving his way through everyone's legs and tripping them up.

"Sit," I instructed. Bruno sat obediently.

"Good boy." I opened the door and walked out.

"Come boy." Bruno came scampering out and walked alongside me.

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I walked Bruno through to the market; Burn had several set routes for us and one ran through the market. Not too many people were in the market this morning and so the walk was going quickly. We walked towards a little shop whose owner we knew well. Mr. Trez, the owner of the little shop, was a really nice old Triceraton who enjoyed seeing Bruno so I liked to walk by there so that he could say hello to Bruno. Mr. Trez would usually be out on the porch of his shop, but for some reason or other he wasn't out today. The shop was open so I decided to take Bruno inside to say hello to Mr. Trez.

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We walked in and then discovered the reason for Mr. Trez not being outside; he had a customer.

"Oh! Hello, my dear," smiled Mr. Trez when he saw Bruno and me.

"Hi," I replied. Just then the customer turned around and I was a bit dumbstruck by who it was.

"Cal?" asked Zimmer.  
"Zimmer, what are you doing here?" I asked, as he just stared at me.

"You two know each other?" asked Mr. Trez.

"Yes, she's the girl I was just telling you about, Trez," replied Zimmer, he had a grin plastered on his face.

"Well, well, well, let me take Bruno for a second and then you two can catch up." Mr. Trez walked up to me, took Bruno's lead from my hand and walked him into the back of the shop where he usually kept his dog treats.

"Well," I said; it was a bit awkward seeing Zimmer again.

"Yeah, where've you been?" asked Zimmer.

"Didn't Narzor tell you?"

"No, I've been worried sick about you since you disappeared."

"That's the last time I ask Narzor to tell anybody where I've been sent."

"You're looking great by the way."

"Thanks Zimmer; you're not looking too bad yourself."

"I guess working in the prison is keeping me in shape." He flexed his muscles slightly so as not to completely show them off, but enough to allow me to see them.

"Yeah, so how's work?"

"Okay, now where have you been?"

"I've been working for the All-stars as their maid."

"Oh, and how's life with the All-stars?"

"It's okay."

"I've really missed you, babe."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean when I discovered that you were missing I nearly freaked out."

"Now you're exaggerating."

"No I'm not; ask **any** of the other guards at the prison. I searched that place from top to bottom and when I couldn't find you there I kinda went into a bit of a depression stage."

I just looked at him.

"I know what you're thinking; you're thinking that I'm pathetic for acting that way," he said, as he noticed my look.

"Why did you do all that anyway? I mean I was just an inmate who you used to talk to," I asked.

"You were more than that to me."

"How so?"

Zimmer looked away from me for a moment; he seemed to be thinking hard about what he was going to say next.

"Zimmer?" I asked, as I started to approach him.

"Never mind, it's nothing for you to worry about," he replied quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"How about I walk you back home?"

"Sure, that would be nice."

"Right; Mr. Trez, could you bring the dog back out here please?"

"Coming Zimmer," replied Mr. Trez, as he came out from the back of the shop.

"Here you go; now behave yourself you little rascal," smiled Mr. Trez, as handed me Bruno's lead and ruffled the fur on Bruno's heads. Bruno just yapped back excitedly.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Trez," I smiled, as I started to walk out of the shop with Zimmer.

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We walked back to the training area in relative silence besides the occasional bark from Bruno.

"So, uh, nice weather we've been having," said Zimmer, trying to start up a bit of small talk as we walked down the corridor that led to the training area.

"Yeah, it has been quite pleasant for the past few cycles," I replied.

Before Zimmer could say anything else the All-stars, Burn, and Zap came out of the other corridor that led to the training area.

"Cal," called Zap, as he caught sight of me.

"Hi Zap," I replied with a smile. He started to jog towards Zimmer and I. I don't know why, but Zimmer's demeanour changed from passive to aggressive as soon as he saw Zap. He stood up to his full height, narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists, and his tail became rigid.

"Who's your friend?" asked Zap, as he came to a stop in front of me.

"Zap, this is Zimmer, he's that guard Sleeg told you about," I replied.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Zap held his hand out for Zimmer to shake. Zimmer just glared at him.

"O-kay, I'm just gonna be in the training area if you need me, Cal," said Zap, as he headed towards the training area.

"Right, I'll be there in a minute," I replied.

With that Zap disappeared into the training area. The All-stars and Burn were still outside; I'm guessing they wanted to see what Zimmer would do now that Zap was gone.

"I'll see you 'round then, Zimmer," I said, as I looked up at him.

"Yeah, take care," he replied, as he started to walk away.

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Once Zimmer was out of sight the All-stars and Burn walked up to me.

"Who was that?" asked Monza.

"That was an old friend from the prison," I replied.

"Name?" asked Daz.  
"Zimmer, why?" I asked.

"No reason; you've never told us about your prison friends."

"Haven't I?"

"No."

"I guess I haven't told you guys because you've never asked." My mind suddenly started to fill itself with memories of Cloak for some reason or other; I shook my head to clear it, but it didn't help much.

"You okay?" asked Mixx.

"Yeah. Come on guys, Bruno needs his water and a rest."

The All-stars and Burn nodded in agreement and led the way into the training area.

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Later that day, the All-stars and Burn were training in the training area and Zap had gone home early; he had finished his work.

"Cal," called Burn.

"Yes," I replied.

"Could you fetch something for me?"

"Sure what is it?"

"It's a new set of dumb-bells."

"Why you getting a new set? Aren't these guys good enough anymore?"

"Hey!" retorted the All-stars.

"Just kidding guys," I smiled.

They all mumbled something under their breaths and went back to their training.

"Good one kid. Now, go to this address and pick them up for me please," said Burn, as he handed me a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Yes sir," I replied, as I walked out of the training area and headed towards the market for the second time that day.

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It didn't take me long to reach the market, but finding the address was a different story. During my search for the shop I was supposed to visit, I saw Zap with two other Triceratons. I was about to go up to him and say hi when I saw another group of Triceratons approach them. Zap and his group bunched together as soon as they saw the other Triceratons. One of the opposing group members grabbed Zap by his shirt and hauled him up off of the floor. The other Triceraton was a bit taller than Zap, only by an inch or two but still, and he seemed older too; then I realised who it was. It was Zimmer. I couldn't quite make out what it was that they were saying, but I saw the two Triceratons who were with Zimmer go towards the other two Triceratons that were with Zap. Zimmer let go of Zap with one hand and it looked like he going to give Zap's face a serious restructuring session. I was stunned to say the least; I had always known Zimmer as a kind and gentle Triceraton, but now that I had seen how he acted towards others of his own species my perception of him changed.

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I couldn't just allow him to hurt Zap so I found a small rock on the floor; it was about the size of my fist. I ran forward and threw the rock towards the side of Zimmer's head to get his attention. It hit him squarely where his frill connected to his cheek. I skidded to a stop just four feet away from him.

"Who dares?" he growled, as he turned in my direction.

"Put him down!" I commanded, quoting April from The Shredder Strikes Back Part 2.

"Cal!" Zimmer's eyes went wide as he dropped Zap. Zap was able to land on his feet and backed up towards his two friends.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I asked.

"Well, I, I, I, I was just, uh, I was just…," Zimmer stammered.

"It looked like you were bullying my friend!"

"Cal; listen, babe, I can explain."

"Save it! I know what I saw, Zimmer!" The two Triceratons that were with Zimmer backed away from Zap's group and stood about three feet away from Zimmer and me.

"Cal, please allow me to explain." Zimmer put his hands onto my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down a bit; I was a bit furious at the moment.

Zap obviously didn't like the way Zimmer had put his hands on me because a split second later he had knocked Zimmer out of the way and positioned himself between me and Zimmer.

"Zap?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his sudden interjection.

"You keep your paws offa her!" growled Zap; his two friends looked a bit shocked by his actions too.

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" asked Zimmer, as his two friends helped him up.

"I'm her friend, that's who." Zimmer started to approach Zap and me, but Zap was having none of this. He thrust his head toward Zimmer with his horns pointing forward.

"Leave her be," snarled Zap.

Zimmer just stepped back a bit.

"I'll explain this some other time, Cal," said Zimmer, as he signalled to his two friends and started to walk away.

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Once they were out of sight, Zap relaxed a bit.

"Okay, where did that come from?" I asked; I was a bit impressed at his stepping up.

"Don't know really," replied Zap, as he turned and looked at me.

"What was that all about anyway?"

"Zimmer and his friends are always picking on us."

"Speaking of 'us', who is 'us'?"

"Oh, right. Hey, guys come over here I want to introduce you to my fellow employee." Zap's two friends nodded and walked towards us.

"Cal, this is Ac and Turbo," said Zap, as he gestured to an orange Triceraton with a blue 'A' tattooed over his left eye and a grey Triceraton.

"Hi," I smiled.

"Hi," chorused the two Triceratons.

"So you're the little one we've been hearing about for the past few helates," said Turbo, the grey Triceraton. He looked a bit older than Ac.

"I suppose so," I replied.

"Yeah, before you guys carry on can I explain the situation please?" asked Zap, as he gave Turbo and Ac a look.

"Sure," replied Turbo and Ac in unison.

"Right."

"So what were you saying about Zimmer?" I asked.

"Besides him and his friends picking on us?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they've picked on us ever since we trained in the academy together."

"But surely you should know each other by now. Why didn't you say something when you met him in the corridor this morning?"

"Believe it or not, Zimmer and I didn't know each other by name. We now know each other's names because of our meeting this morning."

"Okay, interesting."

"Hey, do you know all of your schoolmates by name?"  
"I guess you have a point there, but you must have recognised him."

"Actually no, I only recognise him if he's with his buddies."

"Considering how many times this guy must have picked on you, I'm surprised that you don't know him by sight."

Zap just shrugged.

"Anyway I'm sure he won't be bothering you guys anymore."

"Yeah, thanks for standing up for us."

"No problem; that's what friends do for each other."

Zap just smiled at me.

"Could you do me a favour, Zap?" I asked.

"Sure, what?" he asked.

"Could you please tell me where this shop is." I handed him the piece of paper with the address on it.

"Sure, the guys and I will escort you. Come on." With that Zap started to lead Turbo, Ac, and me into the centre of the market.

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Finding the shop went a lot quicker now that I had Zap to show me the way. We picked up Burn's order and started to head back towards the training area. Turbo and Ac left us after we had picked up the order; they apparently had a soldier's exam tomorrow and so had to be rested and ready. Zap didn't have anything better to do and so escorted me back to the training area. He was a real gentleman and helped me carry the dumb-bells home by taking about three-quarters of them onto his own back. I had told him that he didn't have to carry them, I was perfectly capable of carrying the whole load myself (when you work with the All-stars you end up being able to carry heavy loads), but he insisted on carry them so I didn't argue.


	9. Chapter 9

.Chapter nine.

It's been two weeks since that little bit of trouble with Zimmer and I haven't seen hide nor horn of him since. I'm guessing that he's waiting until I forget about what happened that night before he comes to see me again. Meanwhile Zap and I have become close friends and the All-stars are starting to become more like family than employers. Burn's starting to become a bit like a dad to me and the All-stars are becoming like brothers (and I thought one was enough).

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The All-stars have been in a lot of matches of late; they're trying to become one of the few teams that get to battle in the Inter-Galactic Fighting Tournament. Today is their last match, if they win this they get to go to the tournament. Zap had rigged up an old holo-TV that he had found in the room next door to the training area and we were watching the All-stars' last match. They were doing pretty well considering their opponents were about twice their size; the smallest of their competitors was eight feet tall. Fortunately they had toppled three of the four opponents and were now all focusing on defeating the biggest; he was about twelve feet tall and rather hefty. Mixx had already been knocked down, but he wasn't out yet. Bruno was getting a bit beside himself as he watched the match.

"Hey, it's okay, Bruno, chill," soothed Zap, as he stroked Bruno's heads. Bruno just whined.

"They'll be fine," I reassured.

Bruno gave me a 'yeah right' look.

Just then there was a thud from the holo-TV; Zap and I looked up to see that the final opponent had been defeated. The All-stars had won the match!

"Yes!" cheered Zap and I. Bruno barked his cheer and jumped up and down.

"They did it!" exclaimed Zap, as he picked me up in a hug.

"I knew they could!" I exclaimed, as I returned Zap's hug. As we pulled away from each other our eyes met. For some reason or other Zap froze before he could put me back down.

"You okay?" I asked; I kinda wanted to get my feet back on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," he replied, as he stared into my eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just I… never realised what beautiful eyes you have." He finally lowered me back onto the ground, but he didn't let go. This was a bit awkward.

"Oh, well, thanks for the compliment."

"No problem." He moved his head closer to mine, but as soon as his head was about half an inch from mine the All-stars came in. Zap let me go and he stepped back from me so that we were a decent distance from each other (about two feet). Bruno ran straight up to them and knocked poor Mixx over. He was now the size of a Bull Terrier, but he ate like a horse.

"Get off you over grown pup!" laughed Mixx, as he sat up.

"Hey, it's your fault for allowing him to jump," I said.

"Yeah, I suppose."

"We've got news for you two," said Monza.

"If it has anything to do with you guys winning your last match; we've already seen it," said Zap.

"Congratulations guys," I smiled.

"Thanks," chorused the All-stars.

"Can we get a hug from you for it?" asked Daz, as he held his arms open for a hug.

"Sure," I replied, as I walked up to him and gave him a hug. Unfortunately I was lifted off of the ground again.

"And you, Zap?" asked Monza, as he held his arms open for a hug. Zap just looked at him queerly.

"Okay, a hand shake then," said Monza, as he held his hand out to Zap. Zap smiled and took Monza's hand in his; that was a **big** mistake. Monza gripped Zap's hand, pulled him closer and gave him a hug.

"Why do I always fall for that one?" asked Zap, as Monza released him.  
"You don't learn from your mistakes," replied Monza, as he grabbed hold of Zap's head in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

"Hey! Let go, Monza," laughed Zap, as he tried to pull out of the headlock.

"No," chuckled Monza.

"Come on, Monza; let him go," I said, as I was released from a hug from Mixx; I had now hugged each All-star except Monza Ram.

"Oh, all right, kill joy," moaned Monza, as he released Zap.

I just smiled at him.

Just then Burn came into the training area.

"You did it!" he exclaimed, as he put his arms over Daz and Xiote's necks and pulled them down to his height.

"And thanks to you boys we'll be going to the Inter-Galactic Fighting Tournament tomorrow. So go home, pack, and meet me in the transport shuttle-docking bay tomorrow at six," said Burn, as he released Daz and Xiote.

"It's going to be very quiet around here without you boys around," I said. I was going to miss them because they would be away for about a cycle; they would spend a week on the tournament and two weeks on vacation.

"You mean you boys haven't told 'em yet?" asked Burn, as he looked at the All-stars.

"We thought it would be best if you told them," smiled Monza.

"Told us what?" asked Zap.

"You two are coming with us to the tournament on Shiniza 8." Zap and I just looked at him dumbfounded. Burn walked up to us, put his arms over our necks, and brought Zap down to his height (I was shorter than Burn so he didn't have to bring me down to his eye level).

"Now, how do you two feel about sharing a room?"

Zap and I pulled out of Burn's hold and looked at each other uneasily.

The All-stars just chuckled at our response.

"Well, when push comes to shove, I suppose…," I started.

"Yeah, I guess…," started Zap.

"Chill you two, I would never do that to you," chuckled Burn.

Zap and I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"No, Zap will be sharing a room with me and Cal will be sharing a room with Bruno," explained Burn.

"Either way you two get a roommate that snores," said Mixx, the other All-stars just snickered. Burn gave Mixx a look then returned his attention to us.

"So, what do you two say?"

Zap and I looked at each other, smiled and then turned our attention back to Burn.

"Thanks sir," we smiled.

"Excellent, now the same instructions I gave to the All-stars applies to you two, but, Cal, I need you to pack Bruno's case for him."

"Yes sir," I replied with a smile.

"Good, now what are you four still doing here? Move, move, move!" Burn chased the All-stars out and left Zap, Bruno, and I in the training area.

"Well, I better get going before he comes back and does that to me," said Zap, as he headed for the door.

"Yeah; make sure you pack light," I advised.

"Will do." With that Zap vanished out of the training area and headed home.

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As soon as Zap went home to pack, I went into the room next door to the training area and unearthed two old duffel bags. Then I started the task of packing; mostly for Bruno, I only had a few things to pack. Once everything was packed and ready to go I put the bags in my room by the door. Bruno thought that it was all a big game having his stuff packed in a bag and almost assisted in unpacking it. I told him that he could unpack it when we got to Shiniza 8 tomorrow. Bruno and I had an early night as we would need to be up early to meet up with the All-stars, Burn, and Zap.

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The next morning, I was up at four and had Bruno ready by five. I walked him down to the transport shuttle-docking bay and we waited there for the All-stars, Burn, and Zap. Bruno was a very good pack dog; I had put his bag onto his back and he carried it with ease. Soon six o'clock came and Burn was the first to arrive.

"Hi Burn," I smiled, as he walked up to me.

"Hello Cal; you're the first one here then," smiled Burn, as he plonked his bags down next to Bruno's and mine.

"Yeah."

"And how's our favourite dog this morning?" Burn ruffled the fur on Bruno's heads.

Bruno just barked and wagged his tail.

"Good. Now, where are those All-stars of ours," said Burn, as he looked around for the All-stars.

"Don't know," I replied.

"I thought Zap would have been here by now." Burn had that teasing look on his face.

I just smiled and decided to play along.

"Yeah, strange that," I said with a smile.

"You two got anything going on yet?" Burn asked casually.

"What would make you think we did?"

"Try the fact that you two spend an awful lot of time together."  
"That's because you put us in the same area to work."

"Just call me your match maker."

I just shook my head at him and looked around for our fellow travellers.

"Seriously, Cal, Zap's a nice enough guy," said Burn, I could hear in his voice that he truly was being serious.

"Burn, I'm a human and Zap's a Triceraton, it would never work out," I replied.

"Yeah, marriage wise no, but going out wise there's a possibility."  
"Maybe, but still I'm not sure I like Zap in that way."

"Well, uh… oh, here come the boys now and it looks like Zap's with them."

Soon the All-stars and Zap were with us; they all looked rather tired.

"Good morning boys," said Burn.

"Morning Burn," yawned the All-stars and Zap in unison. I just smiled at them.

Zap noticed my smile and smiled meekly back at me; he was still half-asleep so a meek smile was all he could muster.

"Right, our shuttle should be here in a few minutes so until then you can relax and find yourself a travel buddy, except Zap and Cal," said Burn.

Zap and I looked at him.

"You two will be sitting together no matter what," said Burn.

The All-stars smiled knowingly at us; I just rolled my eyes and turned my attention elsewhere. Poor Zap was so out of it that he couldn't be bothered by their looks.

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Soon the shuttle arrived and everyone got on. Monza had teamed up with Burn, Xiote and Daz had partnered up, and Mixx and Bruno had joined up. Zap and I were in one of the back seats of the shuttle. He sat next to the window and I sat on 'aisle', so to speak, just in case Bruno got tired of sitting with Mixx and wanted to come lie on the empty seat next to me. We took off about three trigons after we boarded and almost immediately the All-stars nodded off, surprisingly so did Bruno; I suppose he was doing his own version of 'monkey see, monkey do'. Zap stayed awake as did Burn, but the All-stars' loud snoring kinda put aside any hope of a conversation between the three of us.

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Half way to Shiniza 8, the All-stars' snoring had died down to a tolerable buzz and Burn had fallen asleep. I was starting to get a bit bored, but Zap put a stop to that by deciding to put his arm around my shoulders. I was kinda used to having someone drape their arm over me now and so wasn't too fazed by it.

"How you enjoying the flight?" asked Zap.

"It's okay; a bit boring, but okay," I replied.

"Yeah, you could say it was a real snore." I had to giggle at the pun; I like corny little jokes like that.

"You know you've got a cute laugh?" asked Zap, as he smiled at me.

"Now I do," I smiled.

"Do you have any idea what Shiniza 8 is like?"

"No, I've only heard about it from Burn."

"Right; what has he told you about it?"

"Not much; all I've heard about it from him is its name."

Zap just nodded and looked out of the window.

A few minutes of silence passed between us.

"Uh, Cal," said Zap, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," I replied.

"If you feel a bit tired somewhere along the journey I don't mind if you put your head onto my shoulder; you know to rest it." I smiled at him; I could hear in his voice that he was a bit uneasy about telling me this.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Within a helate of that conversation we reached Shiniza 8.

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It was almost like there was a buzzer in the seats of the shuttle because as soon as we touched down the All-stars and Burn woke up; Bruno on the other hand just kept on sleeping. Mixx had to carry him out of the shuttle because he just wouldn't wake up. The shuttle had dropped us off in front of a large hotel; it was green and blue on the outside and it had a green neon sign on the front of it that said something in an alien language that I couldn't understand. We walked in and Burn went to the front desk to check us in. While we were waiting for Burn to check us in, the All-stars, Zap, and I looked around the lobby; well, to be more precise, the All-stars looked around the lobby and Zap, Bruno, and I stayed with the bags. I looked up at the ceiling, but there wasn't one; there was only the glass roof of the hotel. It was a circular hotel and so if you looked at it from a bird's eye view it would possibly look like a tall doughnut. After checking in, Burn handed Monza, Xiote, and me a key card; Burn offered to teach me how to work the key card.

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Eventually we made it to our rooms on the tenth floor; fortunately we were in a line so it wouldn't be too hard to find someone to help me if there was an emergency. Burn showed me how to work the key card from the outside as well as from the inside and then he headed to his room, which was just next door to mine; Zap said that he would come back just as soon as he had put his bag down. Meanwhile I settled Bruno into his temporary home; apparently this was the only hotel on Shiniza 8 that catered for pets.

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It hadn't even been two trigons when I heard a knock on my door. I walked over to it and readied my key card by the lock.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Zap. Can I come in?" came Zap's voice from the other side of the door.

"Sure." I slid the key card down in the lock and the door opened.

"Hi." Zap stepped in and the door closed behind him.

"Hi, so what's your room like?"

"Like this one, but minus the dog."

I just shook my head and smiled.

"You been out on the balcony yet?" asked Zap, as he walked towards the doors that led out onto the balcony.

"No, I haven't," I replied.

"Right, I'll just go out and check if it's dog proof." Zap opened one of the doors just enough for his body to go through, but not enough to let Bruno out at the same time. I called Bruno to me so that Zap could get back in without too much hassling from Bruno. He eventually came back in and left the doors open.

"It's perfectly safe for him to go out there alone," smiled Zap, as he walked towards me.

"Thanks for checking on that for us, Zap," I smiled.

"Where's he going to sleep?"

"On the other bed if he has any say in it."

Zap just smiled.

"Are dogs allowed on the furniture?" he asked.

"Don't know, that's why I'm not allowing Bruno up onto any of it," I replied.

"I'll find out for you later."

"Thanks." Just then I noticed a note on a table next to my bed. I walked over to the table and picked up the note. It was written in that strange alien language so I didn't understand it.

"What is it?" asked Zap, as he walked up to me.

"A note I think, but it's written in a language that I don't understand," I replied.

"Let me have a look at it; I might be able to tell you what it says." I handed the note to Zap who looked at it and smiled.

"What?" I asked, intrigued by his smile.

"It's from the hotel staff," he replied.

"And?"

"And they say that if Bruno wants to sleep on the other bed he can. So in short animals are allowed on the furniture."

"Okay; you hear that, Bruno?" Bruno just looked at me and tilted his heads; his right and middle head went one way while his left head went the other way. Zap and I couldn't help but chortle at him. Just then Burn came into my room.

"Nice of you to knock," said Zap, as we turned to face Burn.

"How did you get in here?" I asked, I thought that I was the only one who had the key card to this room.

"I've got a master card for all of our rooms," explained Burn.

"Right. Is there something wrong?"

"No, just Monza bumped into an old friend of his in the lobby and he wants us all to meet up with him in his room so that he can introduce us to his friend."

"Okay, must we bring Bruno?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't leave him in here alone."

"Right, come on Bruno." Bruno came to me and I put his lead back on him.

"Ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Then let's go." Burn led the way out of my room.

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Within a minute we were in Monza and Daz's room and then we waited for Monza's friend to show up.

"So when's this friend of yours going to show up, Monza?" asked Burn, getting impatient.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"That should be him now," replied Monza, as he walked over to the door and opened it. Monza's body filled the door so I couldn't see what this guy looked like, but I could see his frill and sorta hear his voice and there was something very familiar about both.


	10. Chapter 10

.Chapter ten.

Monza moved out of the way and allowed his friend to come in. All eyes were on this new guy. He walked in two steps and then froze, as did I; the pair of us just stared at each other. I couldn't believe my eyes as to who was standing in front of me. He was a tall Triceraton, about 6'3". He was a dirty orange colour and had dark lines in the grooves of his frill as well as a few scars here and there on his face and arms. He wore, what looked like, a Triceraton pilot's uniform with the sleeves removed and he had black gloves on his hands.

"Cloak?" I asked in disbelief.

"Cal!" exclaimed Cloak, as he rushed forward and picked me up.

"Cloak! What are you doing here?!" I wrapped my arms around his neck as he allowed me to stand on my own two feet, but he didn't let go of his embrace. I didn't really care why he was there I was just glad to see him again.

"I'm just on holiday here, and you?"

"Work. I'm here with the All-stars." Cloak finally released me, but he had only released me enough so that he could see my face, so I was still in his arms.

"I've missed you so much, kid," he said, changing the subject; I noticed that his voice became a lot softer.

"And I've missed you too," I smiled, as I put my hand onto his cheek. Cloak and I were completely oblivious to the shocked expressions of the All-stars, Burn, Bruno, and Zap; we were the only two beings in the room at that moment as far as we were concerned. Cloak pulled me close to him again in a gentler embrace this time. Just then Monza cleared his throat to get Cloak's attention. Cloak partially pulled himself away from me and looked at Monza.

"Explain," said Monza, as he gave Cloak and I a weird look with the rest of the room.

Cloak just smiled and then released me completely, but he put his right hand onto my shoulder as he faced Monza.

"Cal and I used to be inmates at the prison together; we got to know each other quite well and we were even cellmates for a day. I haven't seen her since I was released and when I went to visit her in prison I was told that she was no longer an inmate there and that no one knew where she had gone. So I've been searching for her ever since," explained Cloak.

"Well, it's great to see you again, Cloak," smiled Burn, changing the subject.

"It's good to see you guys again too," smiled Cloak.

"What's your connection to the All-stars?" I asked.

"Cloak used to be an All-star before he became a pilot," said Burn, before Cloak could even open his mouth.

"You never told me that." I looked up at Cloak, surprised.

"Well, it wasn't a very interesting part of my life," replied Cloak.

"Hey!" protested the All-stars.

"Sure I met some great guys, but nothing incredibly interesting happened otherwise."

"That's better," said Monza.

Cloak just smiled.

"So what are you doin' now?" asked Xiote.

"I'm a pilot again; I got reinstated a few cycles ago," replied Cloak.

"Congratulations," chorused the All-stars, Burn, Zap, and me.

"Thanks everyone."

"So has anything special happened in your years away from the All-stars?" asked Daz.

"Only meeting this little lady," replied Cloak, as he looked down at me and smiled.

I felt my cheeks starting to go red.

"Serious?" asked the All-stars.

"Yes, she's been the highlight of my life," replied Cloak, earnestly. Obviously he wasn't the shy type like me, 'cause I could feel my cheeks getting a bit hotter.

"O-kay."

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing, Cloak, but seriously there must have been something a bit more exciting," said Mixx.

Cloak gave him a look.

"You know he's right, Cloak; there must have been something more exciting in your life besides meeting me," I said.

"Do you remember the day they had to **drag** me out of the prison?" he asked.

"What in the world did you do to have them drag you out?" asked Xiote.

"He was released," I replied.

"Come again," said the All-stars, Burn, and Zap in unison.

"He wasn't going to leave without me."

"You're joking right," said Zap.

"No, she's not," said Cloak, as he looked at Zap for the first time.

"Do I know you?" asked Cloak.

"No, he's new here," said Burn.

"So you are?"

"Zap," replied Zap.

"Pleased to meet you, Zap; what's your connection to the All-stars?" asked Cloak, as he took his hand off of my shoulder and held it out for Zap to shake.

"I'm just the guy who does maintenance or the 'handy man' as Cal called me once." Zap shook his hand.

"Handy man?" Cloak looked at me quizzically as he put his hand back onto my shoulder.

"It's an earth term," I explained.

"For?"

"For anyone who's able to do a number of jobs."

Cloak just nodded.

"So, Cloak, what made you come here for vacation?" asked Burn, changing the subject again.

"I heard about the All-stars making it into the Inter-Galactic Fighting Tournament and I decided to come cheer my old friends on," smiled Cloak.

"Thanks, Cloak; we need all the extra 'pep' we can get," said Burn.

Cloak just smiled.

"So where're you stayin'?" asked Xiote.

"In this hotel; I'm actually on this floor, room number three three five," replied Cloak. I didn't have a clue where that was because all the doors had that alien language on them.

"Number three three five, on **this** floor?" asked Zap; I guess he was just making sure he had heard properly.

"Yes, why?" asked Cloak.

"Cal's room number is three three four," said Burn.

"Really, well it looks like we're neighbours now." Cloak smiled at me.

"I guess so," I replied with a smile.

Just then an alarm went off on Burn's watch.

"Whoa, I'm late for a meeting," stated Burn, as he walked towards the door.

"I'll see you out, Burn," said Monza.

"Thanks; Zap, come with me for a second I need to give you the key card to our room 'cause I'm not going to be back for a while." Zap somewhat reluctantly left the room with Burn. Just then Cloak squeezed my shoulder.

"Hey, you busy tonight?" whispered Cloak.

"I don't think so. Why?" I asked in a whisper.

"I would like to catch up with you. Meet me down stairs at eight, okay?"

"Sure."

Cloak smiled at me.

Just then Burn and Zap walked back into the room.

"Cal, do you mind if I take Bruno with me?" asked Burn, as he walked up to Mixx and took Bruno's lead from him.

"No, go right ahead," I replied.

"Thanks. Come on, Bruno." With that Burn walked out of the room again with Bruno at his side.

"Bruno?" asked Cloak, as he looked at me.

"Yes, he's the team's new mascot," I explained.

"Right; who picked him out?"

"No one; he picked us out."  
"Come again."

"He was a stray and Cal took him in," explained Mixx.

"Well aren't you the sweet one," smiled Cloak.

I just shrugged and smiled.

"Hey, Cloak, you doing anything this afternoon?" asked Monza.

"No. Why?" asked Cloak.

"I thought you, the guys, and I could go into town and catch up on what we've missed out on over the years."

"What about these two?" Cloak gestured to Zap and me.

"They'll be able to keep each other company; right guys?"

Zap and I nodded.

"Well, okay; so long as they'll be okay here alone."

"Of course we'll be fine," said Zap.

"Right. When do you guys want to get going?"

"Mixx and I just have to pick something up from our room and then we'll come join you, Monza and Daz," said Xiote.

"Right, we'll meet you two in the lobby then," said Monza.

Xiote and Mixx nodded and then left to go to their room.

"I'll see you 'round then, Cloak," I said, as I prepared to leave for my room with Zap.

"Yes; I'll see you 'round, Cal," smiled Cloak, as Zap and I started to walk out of the room.

I looked back at him before I left and then walked out. As Zap and I headed towards my room I could still hear Monza and Daz talking to Cloak.

"A look back before she left, well, well," teased Daz.

"Oh, be quiet or else I'll give you one of my atomic noggies, Daz," replied Cloak.

I just shook my head at the conversation.

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I opened my door and allowed Zap to walk in first; he seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood.

"Something wrong?" I asked, as he walked towards the balcony; the doors were open because we had forgotten to close them when Burn called us to go to Monza's room.

"Why would you think that something was wrong?" asked Zap, as he walked out onto the balcony.

"Because you're not your smiling self. What's wrong?" I followed him out onto the balcony. You could see quite a bit of the city from the balcony.

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about; okay?"

"Okay, but if there is something, please tell me."

Zap nodded and then he looked over towards a balcony that was just next to mine. It was the one outside of Cloak's room. He stood there for quite a while just looking at it.

"What?" I asked, getting a bit perplexed by his continued staring.

"I just want to see something," he replied, as he walked to the side of the balcony that was closest to Cloak's.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as he got up onto the railing of my balcony.

"Just chill; I'll be fine," he replied, as he steadied himself on the railing. Then, before I could say anything, he leapt off and landed heavily on Cloak's balcony.

"Zap!" I exclaimed.

"I'm fine," he replied, as he got up onto the railing of Cloak's balcony and prepared himself to jump back to mine. I moved out of the way so that he could jump back. He leapt off of Cloak's balcony and landed heavily on mine.

"What were you thinking?!" I asked.

"I was just seeing if he could jump from his balcony to yours," replied Zap, as he dusted himself off.

"Why?"

"Just checking."

Suddenly the reason dawned on me.

"You're jealous," I said, finally understanding why he was in such a bad mood.

"Me?" he asked somewhat stupidly.

"Yes, you. Who else?"

"Why would **I** be jealous of Cloak?"

"I don't know, but you're showing all the symptoms of being jealous."

"You make it sound like a disease."  
"Zap, there's no need for you to be jealous about Cloak."

Zap just looked at me.

"Zap, you know full well that Cloak and I are just friends."

"Whatever." He obviously wasn't convinced.

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Later that evening, Zap had gone to help the All-stars train at a local gym and Burn still hadn't come back to the hotel from his meeting. I was getting ready to meet up with Cloak. I had five trigons to spare and so decided to attempt cleaning up my hair. I had found an old boot polishing brush in the training area shortly after I had joined the All-stars and, after cleaning it up, had been using it as a hairbrush. It worked quite well considering it was made to polish and not brush. After fixing my hair I headed down to the lobby to look for Cloak.

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I had just walked into the lobby when I caught sight of Cloak sitting on a sofa in the lounge area next to the lobby; he was apparently reading something. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hello," he smiled, as he looked at me.

"You didn't forget did you?" I asked, as I sat down next to him.

"No, I guess my watch is a bit slower than yours." He put down his magazine and looked at his watch.

"What does yours say?" I looked at my watch to compare the times.

"It doesn't matter; the main thing is we're together again." He put his right arm over the back of the sofa behind me and he put his left hand onto my left knee.

"You're very sweet, Cloak." I put my left hand onto his hand on my knee.

Cloak just smiled at me.

"So, what have you been getting up to since we last saw each other?" I asked.

"Not much, just redoing my pilot's training and getting reinstated really. You?" he asked.

"Besides being moved from the prison to the All-stars training area to be their maid, not much."

"What happened after I was released from prison? Who were you celled with?"

"I was put into solitary and Zimmer was really the only one I had contact with."

"I should have guessed."

"You never did like Zimmer."

"There's some good reasons for that."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I saw him and some of his friends picking on Zap and his friends, Turbo and Ac."

"Right; at last you've seen him for what he really is."

"I suppose so."

"This Zap, is he your…"

"My what?"

"Your boyfriend?" There was a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

"No. Zap and I are just friends."

"Right."

"So is there nothing more you can tell me about what's happened in the past few cycles we've been separated?"  
"Besides me getting in trouble several times, no."

"Trouble?"

"You know me." I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"You just can't seem to stay out of it."

Cloak just chuckled at my expression.

"So what kind of trouble are we talking about?" I asked.

"Just some small pranks that I got busted for by Mozar; nothing huge," he replied with a shrug.

"Getting into trouble with Mozar is definitely huge, my friend."

"Nah, he just made me do extra chores and a bit of P.T."

"P.T?"

"Physical Training or Torture; depends on how you look at it."

"I suppose so."

"It didn't do me any harm. If any it helped me get in shape quicker." Cloak took his hand off of my knee and his arm out from behind me. He then held up his right arm, put his left hand on his bicep and flexed it.

"You do seem to be in better shape than when you were in prison."

"Thanks." Cloak returned his right arm to its previous position behind me, but he kept his left hand to himself.

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Later that evening, at about eleven o'clock, he escorted me back to my room. We had arranged to meet up for breakfast tomorrow morning down at the diner that was just opposite the lounge in the lobby. I was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. After saying good night to each other we went our separate ways. At about one o'clock or so I was rudely awakened by Burn walking in with Bruno; he had just returned. I also heard Zap and the All-stars coming back from their work out in the gym. After giving Bruno his dinner and tucking him into the other bed I was able to go back to bed myself; I had to be at least three-quarters awake when I met up with Cloak tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

.Chapter eleven.

The next day, I had woken up at six to make sure that I was ready by the time I had to meet Cloak at quarter to seven. While I got myself ready I allowed Bruno to go out onto the balcony; he seemed to really enjoy it. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with him when I went down to breakfast with Cloak, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

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I had just called Bruno in and shut the doors to the balcony when I heard a knock at my door. I walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" I asked before I grabbed my key card.

"Cloak. Can I come in?" came Cloak's voice from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and he stepped in.

"Good morning," he smiled.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"You ready to go?"

"Yes, but I've just got to see if Burn will take care of Bruno."

"He can come with us. I don't mind dogs and neither do the hotel staff."

"Okay, but I don't know how he's going to act in the diner."

"He'll be fine. Bruno is it?"

"Yes."

"Right. Let's get going then." Cloak held his arm out for me to take. I interlocked my arm with his somewhat hesitantly; he had never done this before. With that we walked out of my room and down to the diner.

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Bruno was surprisingly well behaved during our walk down. Cloak chose a table that was quite well hidden in the diner; it was behind a few pillars. Bruno sat down next to me and promptly fell asleep.

"He's still tired from being out with Burn most of yesterday," I said, as I looked down at the poor dog.

"Yeah. I know how he feels," smiled Cloak.

Before I could reply a waiter came up to us and spoke in a language that I didn't understand.

"May I order for you, Cal?" asked Cloak, as he looked at me.

"Sure," I replied.

Cloak nodded and then started to talk to the waiter in that alien language.

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After Cloak had finished speaking, the waiter nodded and then walked off back to the kitchen. I had an impressed look on my face; I didn't know that he could speak more than one language.

"What?" asked Cloak, as he looked at me; I guess he wanted to know why I had that look on my face.

"You never told me that you could speak more than one language," I said, as I smiled at him.

"I'm not fluent in it." Cloak started to blush.

"On the contrary; you sounded very fluent in it."

"The poor guy hopefully got the gist of what I was saying to him." Cloak moved his left hand over my right hand.

"So, did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks. And you?" I asked.

"Just fine."

Just then the waiter came back with some strange green beverage that looked similar to the beverage Raph and Traximus had in one of the Battle Nexus episodes; he set the glasses down in front of Cloak and I and then said something to Cloak. Cloak nodded at whatever the waiter had said and, just before the waiter left, he seemed to ask Cloak a question regarding me. Cloak just chuckled and said something to the waiter that made the waiter give him a 'hey hey' look, with that the waiter turned and walked back towards the kitchen. Cloak just smiled and shook his head; I'm guessing he was amused by the question.

"What did he ask you?" I asked.

"You picked up that that was a question?" asked Cloak, as he moved his hand off of mine and opened the two straws that the waiter had left on the table; he put one into his beverage and one into mine.

"Well, with the way that our waiter nodded his head towards me I guessed that it was a question. So?"

"It was a question."

"What about?"

"I hope you like Vergarzian soda; it's a favourite of mine." He was avoiding what that question was about.

"I'll try it when you tell me what that question was about."

Cloak just looked at me.

"Well?" I asked.

"It was about whether or not you were my girlfriend," replied Cloak, as he looked at me earnestly.

"And your reply was?"

"What do you think my reply was? You're just a friend of mine, Cal."

"Not with the way that guy gave you the 'hey hey' look."

"Hey hey?" Cloak looked at me like I was nuts.

"It's a saying I heard on some TV show back on Earth."

"Right."

"So what was your answer?"

"Don't worry about it. The important thing is that we're together for the moment."

I didn't feel like arguing with him and so I just remained quiet and decided to try that rather scary looking soda; which actually didn't taste too bad, think crème soda with Lemon twist and you got something like it.

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After breakfast, Cloak escorted me back up to my room; the All-stars, Zap, and Burn seemed to be asleep still.

"Are you sure I can't pay you back for breakfast, Cloak?" I asked. I had saved most of what the All-stars had paid me and so was fully capable of paying my share.

"I'm positive, now drop it," said Cloak, as he smiled at me.

"Okay, thanks. It was quite nice having breakfast with you again."

"Yeah, we haven't done that since the fire at the prison."

"Yeah, it has been quite a long time."

"Too long."

Just then we heard someone snoring in Burn and Zap's room.

"Why whenever we try to have a moment someone snores?" asked Cloak.

I giggled.

"You remembered Sleeg's snore," I smiled; it was nice to know that he remembered most of our time together.

"Yeah, anyway it seems like your crew ain't up yet so why don't you come into my room and we can talk."

"So long as Bruno can come in too."

"Of course." With that Cloak walked to his door and opened it.

"Ladies first," he said, as he bowed slightly at his waist and gestured for me to walk in.

"Thanks," I smiled, as I walked in with Bruno.

"My pleasure." Cloak walked in behind us and closed the door.

"Now behave, Bruno."

"You can let him off of his lead in here; there's nothing that can get broken."

"Okay, if you say so." With that I released Bruno from his lead and he just walked around the room once and came back to me.

"He's very obedient," commented Cloak, as he patted Bruno's heads.

"Wouldn't you also be if you had Burn training you?" I asked.

"No. He did train me, remember?"

"Oh, right. I kinda forgot."

Cloak just smiled at me and sat down on his bed.

"Come sit next to me," he said, as he patted a spot next to him near the foot end of his bed. I walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked.

Before Cloak could answer there was a knock at the door.

"Hold on a sec," he said, as he got up to answer the door.

"Who is it?" he asked in a strong voice.

"Burn. Is Cal in there with you?" came Burn's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes. Why?"

"We kinda need her if you two aren't too busy with something."

Cloak opened the door and Burn stepped into the room. Bruno saw him and ran to greet him.

"Hello Bruno. Good boy; down," smiled Burn, as he pushed Bruno off and onto the floor again.

"Something the matter, Burn?" I asked.

"No, just we need you to come with us. We're going to the tournament and we need Bruno there."

"Why do you need her then?" asked Cloak.

"I'm Bruno's keeper, so to speak, and so they need me to take care of him," I explained, as I got up from Cloak's bed and walked towards Burn and Bruno.

"Right. I will see you later, won't I?"

"I'm sure you will." I reattached Bruno's lead to his collars and prepared to leave with Burn.

"If you two want to say good bye to each other properly…" started Burn.

Cloak and I just gave him a look.

"What? I don't get embarrassed easily," said Burn, as he surveyed Cloak and I.

Cloak and I just shook our heads at Burn and smiled.

"I'll see you later, Cloak," I smiled.

"Yeah. Take care of her now, Bruno," said Cloak.

Bruno just barked back.

Burn, Cloak, and I just laughed.

"Come on you two," said Burn, as he led the way out of Cloak's room.

I looked back at Cloak before I walked out after Burn.

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Burn walked up to the All-stars' doors and knocked on them loudly to get their attention.

"Come on, boys!" called Burn from outside of their rooms.

I could hear them groan as they woke up.

"Come on, come on, come on; we need to get to the tournament!" said Burn, as he started to walk back towards his room.

"I've just got to pick up a few things from my room, so just wait here for the All-stars. Okay?" asked Burn, as he walked passed me on his way to his room.

"Sure," I replied.

Burn nodded and disappeared into his room.

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I wasn't alone for long. As soon as Burn went into his room, Zap came out and joined Bruno and I.

"Hi," smiled Zap, as he walked up to me.

"Hi, sleep well?" I asked.

"I suppose so. You?"

"I slept quite well thanks."

"I'm guessing that you haven't seen Cloak this morning?"

"Actually I have."

"What?! Without one of us with you?"

"Chill. We just had breakfast in the diner together, that's all."

Zap just looked at me.

"Why are you so uppity about it anyway?" I asked.

"I'm just trying to protect you," he said, as he put a hand onto my shoulder.

"Thanks. It's nice to have someone there to look out for me," I smiled and put a hand onto his hand that was on my shoulder.

"Aww," came a chorus of voices from behind us.

"It's the All-stars. Isn't it?" I asked, as I looked at Zap instead of turning around to look at our 'audience'.

"Yep," replied Zap, as he removed his hand from my shoulder.

"Great." I turned to face the All-stars. They all had a teasing look on their faces.

"Good morning boys," I smiled.

"Good morning," they replied almost chuckling.

"Ready for the tournament?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Just then Burn came back out of his room and put a jacket onto Bruno.

"Had this made for him yesterday," said Burn, as he stepped back to admire Bruno.

Bruno wasn't too keen on the jacket and tried to shake it off.

"It's not coming off, Bruno, so get used to it," said Burn.

Bruno just looked at Burn imploringly.

"No, it stays on; besides you look good in it. Right guys?" asked Burn.

"Yeah," chorused the All-stars, Zap, and I.

Bruno just sighed and decided to live with it.

"Good luck at the tournament today guys. I'll be in the stands cheering you on," said Cloak, as he walked out of his room and started to head down to the lobby.

"Thanks Cloak," said Monza, as Cloak disappeared down the stairs.

"Let's get going, boys," said Burn.

"Yes Burn," replied the All-stars, as they hauled their bags onto their shoulders and prepared to leave.

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It didn't take us long to reach the stadium where the tournament was supposed to be held, but finding the locker room that the All-stars were to use was a different story.

"Maybe you should just ask for directions," I said. I got a group stare from the All-stars, Burn, Zap, and even Bruno.

"What?" I asked.

"What is it with women and asking for directions?" asked Mixx.

"Try the fact that it's logical."

The guys just shook their heads at me and went back to trying to fathom out the map we had been given.

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After finding the locker room, Burn, Zap, Bruno, and I headed to a box where the other support crews were. The box overlooked the arena and so we would be able to see the All-stars quite clearly when they came on. The All-stars' opponents today were a group called the Sagittarians and I found out why very quickly when they came on; they were centaur-like aliens.

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Over the next week I didn't see much of Cloak; we would have the occasional run-in in the corridors, but they were usually very brief because Zap would hurry me along. I began to sense quite a bit of tension between Zap and Cloak so I tried to avoid having them in the same vicinity as each other. The All-stars were doing wonderfully in the tournament; they hadn't been defeated once. Bruno was getting used to being a mascot and he had learnt who to bark at and who not to bark at; Burn was teaching him that. One incident that almost had Bruno and me suspended from the box was a run-in with the Yznical cat that was the mascot for the Yznical team. Bruno had scared the poor thing out of its wits; Burn got a good laugh out of it, but it was a bit embarrassing for me. Zap talked to the stadium manager and was able to get Bruno and me out of trouble.

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When the week of fights ended the All-stars had come first, with the Yznical team second and the Scorpiolites third. They had just made it into first place by one point.

Now they were on holiday and the first thing they did was sleep in until twelve the next morning.


	12. Chapter 12

.Chapter twelve.

Our holiday officially started two days after the tournament because of the All-stars wasting half the day yesterday when they slept in. Unfortunately I didn't have the same taste in fun as the boys did. They were going to some fight or other and I wasn't entirely willing to go with them.

"But we can't leave you here alone, Cal," said Burn. We had all assembled in Monza and Daz's room to discuss this little problem.

"I know; it's just that I might be a bit of a kill joy," I replied.

"But what are you going to do here by yourself besides stay in your room?"

I just shrugged.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" asked Monza.

"Cloak. Can I come in?" came Cloak's voice from the other side of the door.

"Sure." With that Cloak opened the door and walked in.

"I thought you guys would have taken off for the fight already," commented Cloak, as he came and sat next to me on Daz's bed.

"Cal's worried that if we take her along she'll be a bit of a kill joy and so she wants to stay here," explained Burn.

"And that's a problem because?"

"Because she's so young and anything can happen to her."

"You're leaving Bruno with her, right?"

"Yes, but still; Bruno's a mascot not a guard dog."

"How about a baby sitter?"

There were a few muffled snickers from the All-stars and Zap.

"Oi!" I exclaimed, as I folded my arms and looked at Cloak as crossly as I could.

Cloak just smiled at me.

"Like I would be able to find a baby sitter for an eighteen year old girl," said Burn.

"I wouldn't mind looking after her," said Cloak.

The All-stars and Burn looked at each other; nodded and then turned their attention back to Cloak.

"You got yourself a deal, Cloak," smiled Burn.

"Right. Looks like you'll be spending the day with me," said Cloak, as he put his arm around me. I noticed Zap stiffen up when Cloak put his arm around me.

"I'll go along with this on one condition," I said.

"What?" asked the All-stars and Burn in a despairing tone.

"Can we not call it baby sitting?" The All-stars and Burn just smiled; they were relieved that that was all I was complaining about.

"Sure; you'll just be spending the day with me," smiled Cloak. Bruno barked to make sure he was included.

"And Bruno," added Cloak. I patted Bruno's heads.

"Good. Now that that's all sorted should we get going?" asked Burn, as he turned to the All-stars.

"If it's all the same guys, I think I'll stay here with Cal," said Zap.

"You sure, Zap?" asked Burn.

"Yeah."

"Okay, have it your way."

Zap just smiled.

"Let's go, All-stars, and, Cloak, I expect you to have them back in their rooms by eight this evening," said Burn, as he and the All-stars started to leave.

"Yes sir," chuckled Cloak. With that Burn and the All-stars disappeared out of the room and headed to their fight.

"Come on you three," said Cloak, as he got up.

"Where're we going?" asked Zap; he had his arms crossed and he was eyeballing Cloak suspiciously.

"Just through to my room. You okay with that?"

"Sure."

Cloak just smiled and put an arm around my shoulders as we walked out together followed by Zap and Bruno.

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Once in Cloak's room, Zap walked out onto the balcony with Bruno and Cloak and I remained inside.

"It's a bit odd having him here," commented Cloak.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well…," Cloak made an uneasy noise.

"Well what?"

"I don't know what it is. It just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's because I don't know him as well as I know you."

"You can change that."

"How?"  
"Get to know him."

"Again, how?"  
"Talk to him; I'm sure you two have a bit in common."

"Like what?"

"You both get tense when you're around each other."

"That's just a male thing."  
"Mm hmm." I did my Roxy impersonation from Hannah Montana, but added an amused smile.

"What?"

"Never mind. Just try to get to know him; you may be surprised at how much you two get along."

Cloak just sighed and walked out onto the balcony where Zap was. I stayed inside to prevent them from getting too tense.

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Unfortunately my plan for them to become buddies didn't work out; they were like oil and water. After a very tense lunch, Cloak took Zap, Bruno, and I across to a park that was just across the road from the hotel. Bruno loved it! He had never experienced grass under his paws because of the lack of plants on the Triceraton home world. Zap was walking Bruno because he was pulling harder than he usually does and he wasn't listening. It did give me an excuse to walk close to Cloak though. I guess I was developing a crush on him. Zap had been pulled quite far in front of Cloak and I when I felt Cloak slowly put his hand onto my waist.

"You're smaller than I remember you," said Cloak. He kept his eyes forward as he spoke to me.

"I don't think that I've shrunk, Cloak, maybe you've got high-heels on," I replied trying to get under his scales. Cloak let go of my waist and shoved me away from him playfully.

"I didn't mean smaller as in height. I meant smaller as in thinner, leaner," he explained, as I came back to him and he returned his hand to its previous position.

"Oh. Well, thanks for the compliment. I think I might have lost a bit of weight since I started working with the All-stars," I replied.

"A bit?"

"Not too much."

"Enough to make me notice."

I just smiled.

"I guess you need that belt of yours now," he smiled.

"Yes. You're safe from being led around like a horse again," I replied.

Cloak just chortled.

Just then Zap and Bruno came back to us.

"I thought this guy was well trained," puffed Zap. He was exhausted from being pulled around by Bruno. Bruno on the other hand still seemed to have buckets of energy.

"Do you want me to take him for a while, Zap?" I asked.

"No. I can handle… it."

"Something the matter, Zap?" He had noticed Cloak's hand on my waist.

"No, I'm… fine." Zap gave a look at Cloak.

Cloak didn't even see Zap's look; he was busy looking up at the sky.

"Something wrong, Cloak?" I asked, as I noticed Cloak's intense gaze into the sky.

"Not exactly," he replied.

"What are you looking at?"

"Just the clouds. Come on, we better head back to the hotel."  
"Why?" asked Zap.

"You'll find out in a few minutes," replied Cloak, as he turned around with me still at his side and started to walk back the way we had come.

Zap started to follow with Bruno; they were in front of us within a few seconds.

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We did find out the reason Cloak wanted to head back to the hotel very soon. We were half way back when it started to rain and it wasn't a gentle drizzle type rain; this was a serious down pour. Cloak, Zap, Bruno, and I took cover under a low tree that had a bench under it. Cloak and I were in a fit of giggles while Zap just looked at us like we were nuts.

"This is the problem with hair," said Cloak, as he picked my ponytail up in his hand.

"What?" I asked.

"It gets soaked and then it takes forever to dry." He wrung my ponytail out for me.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

We waited for the rain to subside, but unfortunately it was taking a long time to do so and I started to shiver because I was soaked through.

"You okay?" asked Cloak, he had noticed my shivering.

"I'm just a bit cold," I replied.

"Well, here; let me help you with that." Cloak picked me up, sat down on the bench, set me on his lap, wrapped his arms and tail around me, and put his head next to mine.

"Better?" he asked. Our eyes were in alignment with each other.

"Yeah. Thanks," I smiled.

Zap didn't look too impressed with how Cloak was holding me, but fortunately for him the rain subsided only five minutes after Cloak had helped me keep warm. As soon as the rain subsided, Cloak unwrapped himself from me and we started to head back to the hotel.

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Just before we reached the hotel Cloak stopped stock-still.

"Cloak?" I asked. He didn't reply; he just kept his head high and seemed to be listening to something.

"Hey! She's talkin' to you," said Zap. He had managed to persuade Bruno to walk with Cloak and me.

"Be quiet," said Cloak.

"Why?"

"I need to listen."

"To what?"

Just then Cloak darted to the left; he pushed Zap and Bruno and pulled me in the same direction. Cloak released me and got me behind him along with Zap and Bruno.

"What do you want?" asked Cloak, as he faced off to a bunch of strange aliens. They had shot at us; that was why Cloak had been listening so intensely.

The aliens spoke a language that I didn't understand, but Cloak seemed to be able to grasp what they were talking about.

"Keep back!" he warned, as he started to back up.

The lead thug said something to Cloak, but of course I didn't understand a word.

"Zap," said Cloak.

"Yeah," replied Zap.

"Get Bruno and Cal back into the hotel. I'll take care of these guys. On my mark."

"Yes sir." With that Zap picked me up and had Bruno jump on top of me.

"Go!"

Zap spun on his heels and charged straight back towards the hotel as Cloak charged straight for our attackers. Bruno clung to me as best he could; he was slightly terrified by the sound of lasers being fired in our direction. It didn't take Zap long to get us -back into the hotel and up to Burn's room.

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Once in Burn's room, Zap set Bruno and me down onto Burn's bed and he collapsed onto his; he seemed to be gasping for air.

"Zap, you okay?" I asked, as I walked up to him.

He didn't reply. He couldn't reply. Just then I noticed a small spray bottle of some description on the table next to Zap's bed. He coughed and was just able to point to it. I handed it to him and he struggled to get it to his mouth. I helped him by moving his hand for him. He sprayed two doses of the bottle's contents into his mouth and he started to breathe normally again. He sat up and I sat down next to him.

"You okay?" I asked soothingly, as I put a hand onto his back.

"I'm fine," he puffed.

"What happened?"

"That's why I couldn't become a soldier. My windpipe closes up in times of high stress. That's why I'm given low stress jobs; to prevent my windpipe from closing up."

"Oh."

Just then I remembered Cloak.

"Cloak!" I exclaimed

"I'll go help him," said Zap, as he stood somewhat shakily.

"No. You'll possibly put yourself in more danger if you go out there now, Zap."

"I don't have to protect you now; I'll be fine."

Before Zap could walk out of the room, Cloak came in. He seemed to be okay; just a few bruises.  
"Cloak! You're okay!" I smiled.

"Yeah, just a bit sore," replied Cloak, as he sat down on Burn's bed. He breathed stiffly for a few seconds; it was like he was in some serious pain, but didn't want to show it. I was glad see that he was reasonably okay, but something seemed odd about him. I looked him over quickly and then noticed that he was a brow horn short.

"Cloak. Your horn," I said.

"Right here," he replied, as he showed me his broken horn in his hand.

"What did they want?" asked Zap, as he walked up to us.

"They wanted Cal," replied Cloak.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're better off not know."

I wasn't about to ask any more questions on it; if Cloak said that it's better that I don't know then I don't think I want to know.

"You lost a brow horn for her," said Zap. Zap made it sound like it was a big thing, but then maybe it was for a Triceraton.

Cloak just shrugged.

"You were very brave, Cloak," I said.

Cloak smiled at me and then winced in pain.

"Cloak?" I asked. I was a bit worried when I saw his obvious pain.

"Don't worry; it's nothing," he replied through clenched teeth as he clamped his left arm to his side.

I walked over to his left side and gently removed his arm. As I removed his arm I saw a lot of blood staining his uniform.

"Zap, get some help. Cloak's been injured," I instructed.

"On it," he replied, as he ran out of the room and down to the lobby.

"Why didn't you try to find help?" I asked.

Cloak just turned his head away from me.

"Cloak," I implored.

"I can handle it," he replied.

"Cloak, looking at how you're holding yourself you seem to be in a lot of pain."

"I can handle it, okay?! I'm not weak!" Cloak sat up straight and stuck his chest out, but then had to bring himself back into his previous position because of the pain. I was starting to get that nasty helpless feeling; there wasn't anything I could do to ease his pain.

Just then Zap walked in with two paramedics.

"I found these guys down stairs enquiring at the front desk about a male Triceraton that had been shot," said Zap.

"Come on you," said one of the paramedics, as he took hold of Cloak's right arm. The paramedics were blue aliens that looked like they had a moustache of skin hanging over their mouths. Cloak pulled his arm out of the paramedic's grip.

"Look, there's no time for a tough guy act. We need to get you through to the hospital now," said the paramedic, as he took hold of Cloak's arm again.

"Look, I'm supposed to be looking after these three," said Cloak.

"We can take care of ourselves; just get him out of here," I said.

"Right," replied the paramedics, as they tried to get Cloak to move.

"If I don't want to move, I don't move," said Cloak through clenched teeth.

"Cloak, please; just do what they say for your own sake," I implored.

Cloak looked at me; I guess he could see that I was worried about him. He sighed, stood up, and started to walk out of the room; he winced in pain with each step he took. The paramedics started to walk after him. Just before he left he looked back at me. I could see in his eyes that he was unhappy about something or other.

"We better contact the All-stars and Burn," said Zap, as he walked over to a phone.

"Right," I replied.

With that Zap called the All-stars and Burn via Burn's handheld communicator.

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Within five trigons the All-stars and Burn were back at the hotel to check that Zap, Bruno, and I were okay. After they had made doubly sure that Zap, Bruno, and I were fine they led us out to a transport shuttle and we went to see how Cloak was doing. Apparently there was only one hospital on Shiniza 8 and it was capable of holding more than half of the population; so in other words it was **big**. Once in the hospital, Burn went to the front desk and enquired as to Cloak's whereabouts.

"Come on. He's in the recovery ward," said Burn, as he started to lead the group further into the hospital.

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We walked quite a way into the hospital, but eventually we made it to Cloak's ward. Burn knocked on the door and a nurse answered it; she was the same species as the paramedics.

"Yes?" she asked, as she partially opened the door.

"We're here to see a friend of ours," said Burn.

"Your friend's name?"

"Cloak."

"And your name?"

"Burn."

The nurse nodded and disappeared back into the ward. Within a trigon the door opened and we were allowed to go in.

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As we walked in, we discovered that the ward was empty except for Cloak.

"Ah, you must be the friends my nurse told me about," said a doctor that was standing by Cloak's bed.

"Yes," replied Burn.

"Right. I wouldn't recommend staying too long because he is still a bit weak."

"He seemed fine when he left; besides the wound on his side," said Zap.

"I'm fine, doc, really," groaned Cloak, as he looked up at us. He looked like he was barely able to keep his head up, but he was forcing himself to keep it up. I walked over to him and gently pushed his head back down.

"Rest," I said quietly.

"Why is he so weak?" asked Burn.

"Well…," started the doctor.

"No reason in particular, Burn," said Cloak, before the doctor could reply.

"I would consider being clinically dead for a tecala a 'reason in particular', sir," said the doctor. (A tecala is equal to one earth minute).

"What?" asked the All-stars, Burn, Zap, and I in unison.

"Yes, on his way here he died. The wound was so extensive that he would have died within twenty tecalas if it had been left untreated. Fortunately our paramedics were able to get his heart started again while he was in the ambulance." Cloak didn't look too pleased with what had just been said. I gave Cloak a hard look. He had just been very stubborn and it had nearly cost him his life. Cloak noticed my look and responded with a hurt closing of his eyes.

"I think it's time you went," said the doctor, as he noticed Cloak's distress.

"Right," chorused Burn, the All-stars, Zap, and I as we turned to leave.

"I'll see if I can get Burn or one of the All-stars to bring me down here tomorrow," I said before I left.

"Thanks," said Cloak.

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The All-stars, Burn, Zap, and Bruno were all waiting out in the corridor.

"What did you tell Cloak?" asked Burn.

"I just told him that I would try to convince one of you to bring me back down here tomorrow to come see him," I replied.

Burn nodded and we started to walk off towards the hospital's entrance.

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Once back at the hotel, Zap sat with me out on the balcony while Bruno played with his squeaky toys. I was a bit annoyed with Cloak for being so stubborn.

"Something wrong?" asked Zap.

"Yes," I replied.

"What is it?"

I sighed irritably.

"Well?" asked Zap.

"Why didn't he just allow the paramedics to help him instead of putting on that tough guy act?" I asked, as turned around, put my hands on the railing and looked out over the city as if the answer would materialise in front of my eyes if I stared long enough.

"You're upset with him."

"That's putting it mildly. He almost killed himself, Zap."

"I know, but he was kinda doing it for you."

"Come again."

"He was protecting you, wasn't he?"

"Well… yeah, but still…"

"But nothing. He got injured because he was protecting you."

I just looked away from Zap. He was right; Cloak had been injured because of me.

"Now don't get all 'it's all my fault' on me. There's possibly a few more reasons why he acted the way he did."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You're going to have to ask him that."

I just looked away from Zap again.

"Maybe tomorrow you can get to be alone with Cloak for a few minutes and ask him these things."

"That's an interesting line coming from the Triceraton who doesn't even like me being too close to Cloak."

"I know, but, let's just say that Cloak has one less rival for your affections."

"And that means what?"

"It means that there won't be any more tension between Cloak and I when we're both around you." I unfolded my arms and gave Zap a hug.

"Thanks Zap," I smiled.

"No problem, but I ain't allowing him to take advantage of you. I'm going to be something a bit more fierce than a boyfriend; if you'll allow me to be that is."

"And what's that?"

"A best friend."

"You got it."

"Maybe now Cloak and I can become friends."

"That would be nice."

"Yeah, no more tension."

I just smiled.

"Why _**did **_I fall for you again? I mean women are just stressful."  
I gave Zap a good punch to his shoulder for that one.

"Ow! Where did you learn that?!" asked Zap, as he jumped away from me and rubbed his shoulder.

"Cloak taught it to me when we were in prison together," I replied.

"Slag! Maybe once we're friends he can teach me that."

I just smiled and watched the poor Triceraton rub his shoulder.

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The rest of the day was quite uneventful. I was glad that Zap was content with just being a friend and that he was keen on becoming a friend to Cloak. Burn said that he would take me down to the hospital tomorrow to visit Cloak and take him some breakfast.

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When I went to bed that night, I couldn't help but think about what Zap had said about Cloak's possible reasons for putting on the tough guy act. I decided to ask Cloak these questions when I saw him in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

.Chapter thirteen.

Morning came very quickly and Burn and I set out for the hospital at about seven o'clock. I had left Bruno in the care of Zap and Mixx; I was certain that between them they could take care of him. Burn and I arrived at the hospital at about half passed seven and made our way through to Cloak's ward. Burn knocked on the door. The same nurse answered and admitted us in quickly.

"He'll be glad to see you, miss," said the nurse.

"Stupid question, but why?" I asked.

The nurse giggled.

"Let's just say that he told me a thing or two," she replied.

I just cocked a brow and continued to walk towards Cloak's bed.

"Morning," smiled Burn.

"Good morning, Burn; I don't suppose…" started Cloak. He was propped up against the headboard of the bed with his pillows behind his back.

"Good morning, Cloak," I said, as I took my place next to Burn.  
"Cal," he said. He looked surprised.

"Yes."

"Wha… what are you doing here?"

"Coming to see you. Why?"

"I just thought that you wouldn't."

"You know what thought did?" I walked up to him and put my hands on the railing that was on the side of his bed.

"No what?" He looked a bit puzzled.

"He planted a feather and thought a chicken would grow."

Cloak silently laughed and shook his head.

"At least I got you to smile," I smiled.

"How could I not?" he asked. Just then I felt his hand on mine.

"We've brought you a bit of breakfast, Cloak." Said Burn, as he put a bowl of something we had brought for Cloak on the bedside table.

"Thanks," smiled Cloak.

"You're welcome."

"Uh, Burn."

"Yes."

Cloak then said something in some alien language that I didn't understand. Burn smiled and looked at the nurse. He seemed to ask her something and she just giggled and replied in that alien language as well. Burn then returned his attention to Cloak and said something else in that alien language.

"You know that this is terribly rude," I said, getting fed up that I couldn't understand a word they were saying.

"Relax. I'll tell you what we were talking about in a minute," smiled Cloak.

"I better be off. I'll come pick you up later, Cal," smiled Burn, as he walked off towards the exit.

"Hold it, Burn," I said.

"Yes."

"What later?"

"Just later."

"Yeah, but later with you could mean anything from two trigons to a whole day."

"In between; I'll see you later." With that he walked out of the room along with the nurse.

Cloak just had a pleased smile on his face.

"Okay, tell me; what were you three talking about?" I asked.

"I just wanted some time alone with you, but I didn't want you to hear that," replied Cloak.

"Why not?"

"I have my reasons."

"Yeah, speaking of reasons. What were your reasons for acting the way you did yesterday?"

"I had a feeling you would be asking me that. Come on, get up here and I'll tell you." Cloak moved himself over a bit so that there was a bit of room on his bed for me to sit on. I hopped up and then waited for him to explain.

"Where do I start?" he asked.

"You're the only one who knows that, Cloak," I replied.

"I guess the reason for my acting the way I did was just to prove that I was strong."

"I would say that your muscles would suffice for a show of strength, Cloak."

"I know, but still. I suppose us guys just have a need to go that one step further when a girl's with us."

"You were showing off in other words."

"In a way, yeah."

"Well you know you don't have to when you're with me; save it for your Triceraton girls."

"I don't find them half as attractive as you."

I blushed slightly; that was one of the sweetest things he had ever said to me.

"So, how are things back at the hotel?" asked Cloak.

"Okay," I replied.

"Right. I guess the guys thought I was pretty stupid yesterday."

"More me than them; they seemed to be unfazed by it."

"Right; what did Zap have to say about it?"

"Not much, just that you were protecting me and that I was the reason for your being wounded."

"Now that's not true! Yes, I was protecting you, but it wasn't your fault; I moved left when I should have moved right. Anything else?"

"He did mention trying to befriend you."

"Why?"

"Because he's removing himself as a rival to you."

"A rival for what?"

"My affections."

"Oh."

"But other than that not much."

Cloak just nodded.

"So, when do you think you'll get out of hospital?" I asked, as I put my hand onto his.

"Soon I hope. I don't like being away from you," he replied, as he pulled his hand out from under mine and put it on top of my hand.

I just smiled and started to blush again.

Just then Burn came back in.

"Am I disturbing something?" he asked.

"No," replied Cloak and I in unison.

"Right. Come on, Cal; we better let Cloak rest for a while. The doctor says that he'll contact us when Cloak's to be released."

"You make me sound like a wild creature, Burn," said Cloak, as I slid off of his bed and stood next to him.

"Well, I'm sure on certain occasions you could possibly be quite the wild one; you definitely were when you were on the team," smiled Burn.

"I had to be to be able to survive in those fights."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, as I put a hand onto his shoulder.

"There weren't many rules back then and you had to be quite savage to stay alive. I was small enough and quick enough back then," replied Cloak, as he smiled at me.

"You make it sound like ancient history."

"I was one of the youngest Triceratons to become a fighter in the arena."

"How old were you?"

"Fourteen."

I just looked at him.

"I was a fighter for three years and then I became a pilot; I was a pilot for four years and then I was put in prison," said Cloak.

"I never did find out how long you had been in prison before I met you, Cloak," I said.

"Six cycles."

"Only six cycles?"

"Yeah, my sentence was only for a year."

"Zanramon must have been feeling oddly generous that day."

"Nah, just that's how long the term is for destruction of private property."

"Right."

"Cal," came Burn's voice from the door.

"I've got to get going," I smiled at Cloak.

"The task master's calling you," smiled Cloak.

"Hey!" retorted Burn.

"I'll see you soon," said Cloak, as he put his hand back over mine and squeezed it slightly.

"Right," I smiled.

Cloak released my hand and I walked out of the room.

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Once back at the hotel, Mixx and Zap were glad to dump Bruno back onto me; apparently he was being quite a handful. Mixx slunk off to his room to get a well-deserved rest and Zap came and sat with me in my room.

"So, how's Cloak?" asked Zap.

"He's okay," I replied.

"Will he be out soon?"

"Don't know. The doc said that he would call us when Cloak's ready to leave."

"I see. So did you get to be alone with him?"

"Yes."

"And his reasons?"

"He said that he just wanted to prove that he was strong and then admitted that he was kinda showing off."

"Did you tell him about me backing off?"

"Yeah."

"And his response was?"

"He wanted to know what you were a rival to him for."

"And?"

"And I told him that you were a rival to him for my affections."

"And?"

"And nothing; he just said 'oh'."

Zap rolled his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Didn't he even try to make a move?" asked Zap.

"Not that I noticed."

"Did he at least compliment you?"

"Sorta."

"What did he say?"

"He did say that he found me more attractive than the female Triceratons."

"Anything else?"

"Not really, unless you consider not wanting to be away from me a compliment."

"Close enough."

Just then I noticed Bruno sticking one of his noses into a potted plant that was in the corner of the room.

"Bruno, come here," I said. Bruno came to me and sat obediently at my feet.

"Good boy," I smiled, as I patted his three heads and wiped the sand off of the third head's nose.

"Do you even like Cloak in that respect?" asked Zap.

"Sorta I suppose," I replied.

"I'm gonna have to have a word with him about his feelings for you when he gets back here."

"You don't have to, Zap. If Cloak and I are meant to be, we'll get together soon enough."

"But sometimes one of the two just needs a nudge in the right direction."

I just smiled and shook my head.

"But if a nudge doesn't work, I'll go with a shove," smiled Zap.

Just then we heard Burn's voice outside of the room and then the door opened. Burn walked in with his portable communicator to his ear.

"Hold on a sec, I'll ask her," said Burn to the guy he was talking to on his communicator.

"Cal," said Burn, as he pulled the communicator down from his ear.

"Yes," I replied.

"Do you mind being Cloak's nurse for the next week or so?"

"Um, sure. No problem."

"Excellent!" Burn put his communicator back to his ear and started to talk to the guy on the other end of it, "She says that's she'll be his nurse."

Burn waited a few second for the guy to reply then he smiled, "Excellent! I'll come 'round with her now then. Okay, goodbye." Burn shut off his communicator and stuck it into his pocket.

"What was that all about?" asked Zap.

"Cloak's only allowed to leave the hospital if he has a nurse to look after him, but he's not accepting any help from anyone at the hospital; so they thought that if Cal was to be his nurse he would be more co-operative," explained Burn.

"What does being his nurse entail?" I asked.

"You'll have to sleep in his room in case he needs you in the middle of the night," replied Burn.

"Okay."

"And you'll have to give Bruno's care over to someone else so that you can be there for Cloak when he needs you."

"I can take care of Bruno for you," said Zap.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just get the All-stars to help me."

I just smiled at Zap.

"So, come on, Cal; we've got to go pick up your new charge," said Burn, as he put his arm around my shoulders and pushed me towards the door.

"Okay, okay. I'll see you just now, Zap," I said, as I walked towards the door.

"Okay," smiled Zap, as he took hold of one of Bruno's collars to prevent him from running after Burn and me.

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Within a few trigons we reached the hospital and were admitted into Cloak's ward. We found him arguing with a nurse who was trying to help him up.

"Cloak," I smiled, as I quickened my pace to meet up with him quicker.

"Cal, hi," smiled Cloak, as he turned his head to look at me. He had either gotten himself or had been helped into a sitting position on the edge of his bed.

"Is he being difficult, nurse?" I asked.

"Incredibly," she replied.

"I'll take him from here."

"Very well. I'll bring his wheelchair here for you." She walked off towards the other end of the ward as Burn came up to us.

"So, Cloak, how does it feel to know that Cal here's gonna be your nurse," smiled Burn.

"Say what?" asked Cloak, as he looked at me.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" I asked.

"No, I've just been having a rather big argument about being helped for the last helate or so."

"You've been arguing for a helate?"

"Yes, and he refuses to back down," said the nurse, as she came up to us with a floating chair in front of her. The wheels turned up and acted as wings to stabilise the chair, but when it was just sitting still the wheels came down and it looked like a normal earth wheelchair.

"Come on, Cloak; let's get you into this thing," I said, as I put his hand onto my shoulder and prepared to help him down.

"Thanks," smiled Cloak, as he heaved himself off of the bed and onto the floor.

"Now, you see, if you had just assisted me in getting down instead of trying to move me against my will I would have co-operated," said Cloak, as he sat down into the wheelchair with a wince or two of pain. I could see that he was bandaged up under his clothes.

"Come on, Cal; I can't move this by myself," said Cloak, as he put his feet onto the footrests and the chair started to float.

"Right," I replied, as I walked behind him and took hold of the handles.

"Let's go then," said Burn, as he started to lead us out.

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Once we got back to the hotel, I took Cloak straight back to his room and Burn went to tell the All-stars and Zap that we were back.

"Thanks," said Cloak, as I helped him get onto his bed.

"No problem," I smiled. I was a bit uneasy about sharing a room with him and I guess he picked up that something was worrying me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem to be a bit, I don't know, uneasy about something."

"I guess I'm just a bit uneasy about sharing a room with you."

"You're not usually this forward, but if you want to…"

"I'm supposed to be on hand in case you need me in the night."

"Oh; no, you don't have to stay in here with me. I'll just call you."

"I don't think your other neighbours will be very happy with that."

"No, I meant that I would call you via the phone or something."

"Oh, right."

"So you can stay in your room and if push comes to shove I can always throw something heavy against the wall to wake you up."

I giggled.

"Just make sure it doesn't come through the wall, okay?" I smiled.

"You got it," smiled Cloak.

I was relieved to say the least.

"I can see you're a bit easier now. Not so…," started Cloak.

"Uneasy?" I asked.

"Yeah."

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," said Cloak.

The door opened and the All-stars, Burn, Zap, and Bruno filed in.

"Hi guys," smiled Cloak.

"Hi," chorused the All-stars, Burn, and Zap. Bruno barked his hello in a three-part harmony.

"Hello Bruno."

"So, how you feeling?" asked Monza, as he walked up to Cloak.

"Okay," replied Cloak.

"Should you and I go fetch your stuff so that you can move in here, Cal?" asked Zap.

"That's not necessary, Zap," said Cloak, before I could respond.

"Huh?"

"She'll be staying in her room still; I'll just phone her if I need her."

"Right."

The rest of the day was quite uneventful; I stayed with Cloak the rest of the day and Burn gave Cloak a small buzzer that he could use to contact me. I went to bed with the buzzer next to my pillows so that I would hear it if it went off. I was kinda hoping that Cloak wouldn't call because there was no guarantee that I would hear it because I'm quite a heavy sleeper. As a precaution I put my hand onto the buzz so that I would feel it if it did go off. With that precaution taken care of, I looked over at Bruno to check that he was okay, turned off the light, and went to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

.Chapter fourteen.

The next day when I woke up I realised that I hadn't been woken up by Cloak at all during the night. I got up, got dressed, put Bruno's lead on him, and went through to Cloak's room to check that he was okay. The hotel manager had kindly given me the extra key card to Cloak's room so I could get into Cloak's room in case of an emergency.

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I opened the door and walked in. The lights were still off and Cloak seemed to still be asleep, but just to make sure that he was still alive I walked up to his bedside. Once there I quietly told Bruno to sit and stay, then I pulled my ponytail to one side, turned my head so that my cheek was facing Cloak, bent over him and put my head just above his; I was checking that he was breathing. I could feel his breath on my cheek, but then I felt something else; I felt his beak and lower lip touch my cheek. I thought that I had just leaned too close and so, as not to disturb him, I stood up straight.

"Good morning," Cloak smiled smugly.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked.

"Yes thanks. And you?"

"Decently."

"Good."

"Uh, you might think that this question's a bit stupid, but…"

"I wouldn't think any of your questions were stupid, Cal; what is it?"

"Did you just kiss me?"

"Yes, I did."

I didn't expect him to say that; I thought that it was accidental.

"Why?" I asked, as I felt my cheeks starting to burn as they went red.

"I have my reasons," smiled Cloak, as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up; I moved back to give him some room.

"You and your reasons."

Cloak just chuckled.

"What brings you in here? I didn't call," said Cloak, as he looked at me.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay; you know, in case you had called me during the night and I hadn't heard," I replied.

"No, I didn't call."

"Good."

"But I was about to."

"Oh, what for?"

"Come a bit closer and I'll tell you."

I stepped closer to him and he put an arm around my waist.

"Help me up will yah?" he asked, as he tried to get up.

"Sure," I replied, as I took his left hand in my right hand and pulled back to help him up.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Was that all?"

"No."

"What else can I do for you then?"

"Can you open those curtains over there while I go shower?"

"Sure." With that Cloak picked up a small plastic bag that was on a chair near the bathroom door and disappeared into the bathroom while I opened the curtains and, just because I felt like being helpful, made his bed.

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After tidying up a few things, I walked up to the bathroom door and knocked on it.

"Yeah?" came Cloak's voice from the other side of the door.

"I'm going back to my room now. If you need me just call," I said.

"I'll be out in a minute; just hold on."

"Okay." I walked over to his bed and sat down at the foot of it. Bruno looked up at me and put a paw onto my knee. I just smiled at him.

Just then the bathroom door opened and a cloud of steam rolled out and into the main room; it was followed closely by Cloak.

"Why were you about to abandon me?" he asked, as he did up his belt.

"I didn't have much to do in here and I didn't exactly want to inhibit your morning routine," I replied.

"You already did that by walking in to check on me."

"Oh, sorry."

"No problem. I enjoyed opening my eyes and seeing you standing at my bedside."

"When did you open your eyes?"

"When you were telling Bruno to sit and stay."

"Right."

"So, you got anything planned for today?"

"Just looking after you. Why?"

"Just checking."

"How's your wound?"

"It's okay; not too sore today."

"You get the blood out of your other set of clothes?"

"I'm going to try to do that today."

"So you have more than one uniform with the sleeves ripped off."

"Yeah, but I do have one with its sleeves still attached."

"What for?"

"Formal occasions."

"Right."

Cloak looked out of the glass doors that led onto his balcony.

"Nice day," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," I replied.

Cloak smiled at me, walked up to his bed and sat down next to me.

"You had breakfast yet?"

"No. I, basically, came straight to you when I woke up."

"Basically?"

"I got dressed first."

"Right. Then allow me to at least get you something to eat."

"I don't have much of a choice seeing as you're the only one who can speak the receptionist's language."

"Good thing that."

"Why?"

"You can't say 'no' to my offer then."

I just smiled and shook my head as Cloak picked up the phone and called room service.

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After breakfast, Cloak had me take him through to Monza and Daz's room in his wheelchair so that he could visit them. I only took him in the wheelchair because it was the doctor's orders. When we arrived at their door we could hear them snoring. Cloak banged on the door with his foot to wake them up.

"Cloak," I reprimanded.

"It's nine o'clock; they should be up by now," he replied.

I just shrugged as a very blurry eyed Monza opened the door still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning Monza," smiled Cloak.

"Morning Cloak, morning Cal," yawned Monza.

Bruno barked to get Monza's attention.

"Morning Bruno," smiled Monza, as he got down onto one knee and ruffled Bruno's fur.

"What are you still doing asleep?" asked Cloak.

"I'm on vacation!" replied Monza exasperatedly.

"No excuse. Come on, Cal." Cloak signalled for me to walk into the room.

I first looked up at Monza. He sighed and stood to one side to allow Cloak and me to walk in.

"Who is it?" groaned Daz with his head buried under his pillow.

Cloak signalled me to walk over to Daz's bed. Once we got there, Cloak picked up Daz's tail, which had been hanging out of his bed and gave it a good tug.

"Hey!" exclaimed Daz, as he pulled his tail back from Cloak.

"Wake up and see who's here," said Cloak.

Daz groaned.

"Cloak," he said, as he pulled his head out from under his pillow and looked at us.

"And his girlfriend," Daz smiled.

Cloak and I just glared at him.

Again Bruno barked; he seemed to know when he was being left out.

"And the mutt," smiled Daz.

Bruno just snorted.

"What you two been up to this morning?" asked Daz, as he leaned back against the headboard of his bed.

"Not much," said Cloak and I in unison.

Monza and Daz gave each other a knowing look.

"So has Burn come to see you yet?" asked Monza.

"Not yet," replied Cloak.

"So Cal's been the only one you've laid eyes on this morning," said Daz with a teasing smile.

"I should have kept it that way. You two look like death warmed up," smiled Cloak.

"Hey!" protested Monza and Daz.

I couldn't help but giggle quietly.

"So what's with the wheelchair?" asked Monza, as he changed the subject.

"Doctor's orders," replied Cloak.

"Elaborate on it please."

"The doc doesn't want me walking around more than necessary so that all my energy can go into healing my wound. It's only a small hole so I should be back to my old self in no time."

"If you ask me he's already back to being his old wonderful self," said Daz to Monza in a bit of a whisper.

"Thanks for the compliment, Daz," said Cloak.

Daz just shrugged.

"You two got anything planned for today?" asked Monza.

"Not really, no," replied Cloak, as he looked up at me. I put my hand onto his shoulder and he reached up and put his hand on mine.

"Maybe you should spend some quality time together," suggested Monza; I could hear in his voice that he was being serious.

"Every minute I spend with her is quality time, Monza."

I had to fight back an 'aww, Cloak'; I didn't want to let on to how I really felt about him, especially not around Monza and Daz because I would never hear the end of it, but I did give him an 'aren't you sweet' look. Cloak just smiled when he looked up at me and noticed my look. Monza and Daz seemed to catch on as well and so obviously started to tease.

"Don't they make a cute couple, Daz?" asked Monza.

"Yeah, right out of romance novel," replied Daz.

"Knock it off you guys; it's not like that," said Cloak in defence.

"Mm hmm," they chorused, as they smiled at us.

"How would you even know what a romance novel couple is like, Daz? I thought you didn't like those soppy stories," said Cloak.

"Well, uh…," started Daz.

"Well?"

"I've… heard things." Daz started to go red.

"Mm hmm; I bet you have." Cloak seemed to know how to get under the All-stars' scales quite nicely.

"Say, Monza, how did that…," started Cloak.

"I don't talk about that, Cloak," said Monza defensively, as he gave Cloak a hard stare.

"Okay, okay, but you two should know by now that if you mess with me I mess with you."

Monza and Daz just mumbled something under their breaths.

"Come on, Cal, we better go get Xiote and Mixx up too," said Cloak, as he patted my hand and then returned his hand to the end of the armrest.

"Right. Maybe you two can catch a few more Z's now," I said, as I turned the wheelchair to face the door.

"Doubt it. Once we're up, we're up," replied Monza.

"Okay, see you boys later then."

"I'm sure you will."

"Unless Cloak and you are busy with something," said Daz in a teasing tone.

"Daz," warned Cloak.

Daz just chuckled as Cloak, Bruno and I left the room.

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After waking Xiote and Mixx up and having a short chat with them, Cloak decided that he had had enough of seeing the guys and asked me to take him back to his room. The rest of the day was kinda uniform; I took care of my charges, Zap came in and had a hearty talk with Cloak and I, the All-stars came in for a bit and talked and then left to go to some sports event they wanted to see, and Burn had to go to a meeting.

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Night soon came and Zap went back to his and Burn's room while I helped Cloak into bed; his injury was still causing him some pain, but it was only when he had to sit down or get up.

"Thanks," groaned Cloak, as he lay down on his bed. He breathed a sigh of relief as the pain started to subside as he lay still for a bit.

"No prob," I replied, as I looked at him with a bit of pity in my eyes and in my voice.

"Hey, I'm not gonna be like this forever; I'll be back to my strong self within a few days."

"I know, but I really don't like seeing you in pain; I know what it feels like." I stroked his head gently.

Cloak just smiled tenderly at me.

"You better get some rest so that you can recover," I said, as I pulled his blankets up around his neck.

"Yeah. I'll try not to call you in the middle of the night if I can," said Cloak.

"Now, Cloak, I don't want you to refrain from calling me if you really need me; even if it's just for a glass of water, I don't mind getting up for you."

"Thanks. It means a lot to me that you like me enough to do all this for me."

"That's what friends do for each other, Cloak."

Cloak chuckled a bit.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, just a thought that tickled my fancy," replied Cloak, as he looked at me and smiled.

"And what was it?"

"Don't worry about it. Good night."

"Good night." I smiled at Cloak, turned and walked out of the room; switching off the light as I went through the door.

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Cloak's behaviour was starting to become quite strange; he had never acted this way to me before. I tried not to puzzle over it because I might come to the wrong conclusion, but I did wish I knew what was going through his head when he made those little remarks of his.


	15. Chapter 15

.Chapter fifteen.

It's been a week since Cloak got shot and I'm learning how to be a decent nurse, or so Cloak says. He's healing nicely and the doctor has allowed him to walk around by himself now, so I don't have to push him around in a wheelchair anymore. I haven't seen much of the All-stars and Zap this week because they're always doing something together. Burn has also been very busy for the past week; he's always on the phone to someone or at meetings. Bruno's also very busy nowadays; he sometimes goes out with the All-stars and Zap or he goes with Burn to meetings.

"You enjoying sitting out here, Cloak?" I asked, as I walked up to Cloak; he was sitting on a bench out on the balcony enjoying the sunlight.

"Yeah, but having you here makes it all the more enjoyable," smiled Cloak, as he moved over so that I could sit down next to him.

"How's your wound today?"

"I was starting to wonder when you were going to ask that."

I just smiled.

"Yeah, it's okay. I think I don't need to wear the bandages anymore," said Cloak.

"Why do you say that?" I asked

"It's healed over. No more blood seems to be getting onto the bandages."

"That's good."

"Yeah. I just have to let the area toughen up again and then I'll consider myself fully healed."

"Excellent!"

Cloak just smiled at me.

As I looked at him I realised something; I knew that Zimmer was twenty-two and, from what I had heard of Cloak's past, Cloak should only be twenty-one, but he looked older than Zimmer.

"Something wrong?" asked Cloak.

"Not really, just…," I started.

"Just what?"

"Just you look older than Zimmer, but he's twenty-two and you're twenty-one."

"I'm not twenty-one."  
"But that's what you told me last week. You started being a fighter at fourteen."

"Yes."

"You fought for three years which means that you were seventeen when you left."

"Yeah, but still I'm not twenty-one."

"Come again."

"Let me tell you the story; I was fourteen when I started, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Then I fought for three years, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. I left when I was seventeen. You following?"

"So far, but you're starting to loose me again."

"I took a course to become a pilot right after I had turned seventeen and it took me a year to complete."

I just nodded.

"I became a pilot when I was eighteen and I remained a pilot for four years which takes us to my twenty-second year," Cloak continued.

"So you're twenty-two," I said, my brain was starting to hurt from trying to understand all this.

"Yes, turning twenty-three this year."

"You look older than twenty-three," I said, as I studied his physiognomy.

"Hey!" Cloak scowled at me.

"But it looks good on you." I smiled at him; that usually got me out of his bad books.  
"Thanks." He smiled smugly back.

"You do know that that makes you five years older than me."

"Yeah so?"

"Nothing, just you're five years older than me."

"Hasn't changed my view of you."

"Meaning?"

"Never mind. Nice day today, hey?"

"Yeah, quite nice and what makes it nicer is that I don't have to watch Bruno every five seconds."

"Does he annoy you?"

"Not really, but I can relax a bit more when he's not around."

Cloak smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, it's kinda like me and the guys," said Cloak.

"Come again," I said a bit puzzled.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I do become a bit more serious and on guard when I'm around them."

"Oh. No, I haven't noticed; shows how observant I can be."

"Lot's of people don't pick up on it so you're not unusual in that respect."

"Thanks… I think."

Cloak just chuckled and pulled me closer to him.

Just then Burn came into Cloak's room.

"Cal! Cloak!" called Burn.

"We're out on the balcony, Burn," replied Cloak.

Soon Burn came out to see us.

"Ah, there you are. Mind if I steal your nurse away for a bit, Cloak?" asked Burn.

"No, just make sure she's back within the helate," smiled Cloak, as he released my shoulders.

"Sure. Come on, Cal." Burn turned on his heels and walked back into the room.

"I'll see you later," I smiled at Cloak, as I started to walk into his room after Burn.

"Right," smiled Cloak.

I looked back at him once more before I left to see what Burn wanted.

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I followed Burn out of Cloak's room and into the corridor where we met up with the All-stars, Zap, and Bruno.

"Hi guys," I smiled.

"Hi," chorused the All-stars and Zap.

Bruno barked his hello.

"So what's up?" I asked, as I gave Bruno a quick scratch.

"We've been offered a tour by one of our sponsors," said Burn somewhat hesitantly.

"Excellent! Good work guys!"

"Ye-ea-ah," chorused the All-stars.

"What's wrong?"

"We can only take **six **team members and our mascot," said Burn.

"And there's seven of us," I ended for him.

"Yeah. So, either you or Zap will have to stay on the home world."

"I'll stay."

"What?! But this is your chance to see the universe," said Zap.

"Hey, I've seen more than enough. You on the other hand need to see a bit more than just the home world," I said.

"Yeah, but…"

"Also I don't think I could exactly leave Cloak; I mean, we've only just been reunited."

I got a teasing look for that.

"So, you would rather stay back on the home world with your boyfriend than come with us," smiled Daz.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're **just** good friends," I said somewhat defensively.

"Yeah, that's what they all say."

I decided to just ignore Daz, it usually works.

"You sure about this, Cal?" asked Burn.

"Positive," I replied.

"But this means that you're gonna have to find a new job," said Zap.

"You know he's right, Cal," said Burn.

"I'm sure I can get a job somewhere. Didn't Raz and Zed need a gofer?" I asked.

"They found one," said Mixx.

"Look, guys, I can take care of myself," I said reassuringly.

"Maybe, but it's gonna get awfully lonely in the training area without us and Bruno. Isn't it?" asked Burn.

"I guess so, but still I can handle it."

"I guess Cloak could come visit you at least once a week," said Monza.

"There you go, problem solved," I said.

"No, not solved. You still need to find a job," said Burn.

"When do you guys leave?" I asked.

"Two days."

I kinda just gawked at Burn.

"Talk about leaving it 'til the last minute," I said.

"I know, I know. So, do you understand the stress of the situation now?" asked Burn.

"Yeah. Look, I'll talk to Cloak about this; maybe he'll know of someone who needs help."

"Okay, just make sure you two do get onto that subject." Burn gave me a teasing look.

So I gave him a 'don't start' look.

"Right. Get back to us as soon as you've discussed this with Cloak, okay?" asked Burn.

"You got it," I replied, as I turned to walk back to Cloak's room.

"Hold it," I said.

"Yes," replied Burn.

"Who's gonna take care of Bruno?" I turned to face the group again.

"That's Zap's new job."

"You up to it, Zap?" I asked.

"Sure, no problem," smiled Zap.

"Okay, so long as you think you can handle him…"

"I'll be fine. Now, get going; your boyfriend's waiting."

I didn't even reply to that. I just turned and walked back to Cloak's room.

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I found Cloak still out on the balcony.  
"You back already?" asked Cloak, as he saw me walk through the doors that led onto the balcony.  
"Yeah," I replied, as I sat down next to him.  
"Something wrong?"

"Not really. Do you know anyone who would be able to hire me?"

"Strange question for you to ask. Why? The All-stars getting to be too much?"

"No, just the All-stars got a tour with someone and they can only take six team members and the mascot."

"And there's seven team members and a mascot."

"Yeah."

"And they pushed you off?"

"No, I said that I would stay behind."

"Why?"

"Well, partially so that Zap could take the opportunity to see the universe and partially because I wanted to be near you."

"Aren't you sweet?" Cloak put his arms around me and pulled me closer to him in an embrace.

"Right. Anyway," I pushed Cloak away a bit so that I could see his face, "I need to find someone to hire me."

"I heard that there was a need for a secretary back on the home world."

"Is the position still available?"

"Don't know, but you can find out when you get back. When do you get back anyway?"

"Don't know. The All-stars, Burn, Zap, and Bruno leave in two days to go on tour."

Cloak just looked at me wide eyed.

"Talk about leaving it 'til the last minute," said Cloak.

"That's exactly what I said," I said.

"Well, you could stay with me and I'll take you back."  
"I don't want to be a bother, Cloak."

"You wouldn't be. I would actually quite enjoy having you as company for my ride home." Cloak smiled at me.

"Thanks Cloak." I moved my arms up around his neck and gave him a hug.

"That's what friends are for." Cloak pulled me closer to him as he tightened his embrace.

"I better go tell Burn not to worry about me then."

"Right." Cloak kinda reluctantly let me go. I released him, got up and went to find Burn.

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I found Burn in my room collecting Bruno's things.

"Burn," I said, as the door closed behind me.

"Oh, hi Cal. You and Cloak finished your discussion already?" asked Burn, as he put a squeaky toy into Bruno's case and Bruno promptly took it out again.

"Oh, come now, Bruno! Give it here," said Burn in a slightly annoyed voice.

Bruno just shook his heads.

"How did you pack his case for him?" asked Burn.

"With difficulty," I replied.

"Right. Anyway, what did you come in here to say?"

"Cloak says that there was an opening for a secretary on the home world somewhere."

"And?"

"And nothing; he said that I could find out if the position is still open when I get back to the home world."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get you back to the home world."

"She can come back with me," came a voice from the door.

I turned around to see Cloak coming in.

"Right, but what if this secretary job is far from the training area?" asked Burn.

"I'm sure I can find her accommodation close by." Cloak put a hand onto my shoulder.

"Okay. I guess you're in Cloak's care now, kid."

"I suppose so," I said, as I looked up at Cloak.

"Can we trust you to take care of her, Cloak?" asked Burn.

"You're talking to the guy who took care of her while she was in prison," said Cloak.

"Yeah, but still."  
"Don't worry, I can take care of her."

"Okay, if you say so."

Cloak just nodded.  
"When will you two be leaving then?" asked Burn.

"Whenever she's ready to leave," replied Cloak.

Burn and I just looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you're prepared to leave today, we can leave today or we can leave when the All-stars leave," explained Cloak.

"Maybe it would be better if you two left before us," said Burn.

Cloak and I just looked at him.

"The All-stars don't look like the emotional type, but when it comes to goodbyes they're a bunch of cry babies," continued Burn.

"Right," replied Cloak and I.

"So?" asked Cloak.

"Give me a few trigons to get my things together and then I'll be ready to go," I replied, as I walked over to my bed and hauled the duffel bag out from under it. Most of my stuff was still in it so I really only needed to fetch my 'hairbrush' and a few other small things.

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After I had packed in those few little things, I did a quick check that everything that I had brought with me was in the bag; I then zipped it up, picked it up, and stood next to Cloak.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Whenever you are," I replied.

"I better get my goodbye out of the way," said Burn, as he walked over to me and gave me a Triceraton sized bear hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid," said Burn, as he squeezed me a bit tighter.

"And I you, Burn. Now, if you could just let me breath again," I said; he had his arms round my chest and he was starting to crush my lungs.

"Sorry." Burn let me go and I re-inflated myself.

"No problem." I smiled at him.

"Now go say goodbye to the All-stars and Zap, they'll be worse than me."

"Right, but let me first say goodbye to Bruno."

Burn stepped back to allow me to approach Bruno.

"I'll just go fetch my bag and I'll meet you out in the corridor, Cal," said Cloak, as he turned to leave the room.

"Okay. I won't be long," I replied.

"Don't rush." With that Cloak walked out of my room.

"See yah 'round boy," I said to Bruno, as I gave him a hug around each of his necks. He seemed a bit perplexed by my actions. I stood up, nodded at Burn and then left to see to the All-stars and Zap.

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I knocked on Monza and Daz's door to see if they were in.

"Come in," came Daz's voice from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, Cal, what can we do for you?" asked Monza.

"You can say your goodbyes now," I replied.

"What do you mean?" asked Zap.

"I'm leaving for the home world with Cloak in a few trigons."

"What?!" exclaimed the All-stars and Zap in unison.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Why?" asked Zap.

"Burn thought that it would be better if we left at different times," I explained.

"Okay."

"Right. I'll see you boys 'round sometime then."

They nodded.

I walked up to Monza and gave him a hug; big mistake, Monza squeezed me tighter than Burn did, but it was more bearable because he had his arms around my waist instead of around my chest. After he released me I went to each of the All-stars in turn to give them their hug goodbye.

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Once I had been released from Mixx's embrace I turned to face Zap; he seemed to be having a hard time fighting back tears. I walked up to him and put my arms around his neck in a hug; his arms were around my waist within a second.

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy, Cal," sobbed Zap.

That did it! He got tears forming in my eyes; I fought them back as best I could, but the lump in my throat wasn't being helpful.

"And I you, Zap," I said, as I hugged him tighter.

Eventually he released me and I released him.

"I best be off," I said, as I looked at them once more.

They nodded in unison. I could see that they were all having a hard time fighting back tears so I just smiled at them and left.

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As I walked out of the room I saw Cloak waiting for me outside of his room; he had fetched my bag from my room and had his bag next to it.

"Ready?" he asked, as he caught sight of me walking towards him.

"Yeah," I replied a bit dejectedly.

"The guys started to tear up."

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's get going before you start." Cloak picked up our bags in his left hand and put his right hand onto my back as he started to walk towards the elevator.

"Too late I think." Cloak moved his hand from my back to around my shoulders as a way of comforting me.

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After Cloak had settled his bill with the hotel, he took me outside to wait for our ride that was going to be taking us back to the home world. We didn't have to wait long, within half a helate the vehicle arrived. It was kinda like a cab, but Triceratonised. Just as I was about to get in while Cloak put our bags into the baggage area I heard a howl from above me. I looked up and there was Bruno with the All-stars, Burn, and Zap.

"Take care!" called Burn.

"Will do," I replied. The lump in my throat was starting to get very big.

"We'll see you guys 'round," said Cloak, as he started to guide me into the 'cab'.

The All-stars, Burn, and Zap just nodded; Bruno on the other hand didn't seem too keen on me leaving him alone with the guys. I waved goodbye to them and then got into the 'cab'; I was closely followed by Cloak. As we took off I looked back at my old 'family' once more before they disappeared out of sight.

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I didn't talk much for the first quarter of the journey back to the home world, I was worried that I might break down in front of Cloak.

"It's natural to miss them you know," said Cloak.

He had to go and say that didn't he? I breathed out painfully. Just then I felt his arms around me and he pulled me closer to him. He then gently pulled my chin towards him so that I was looking at him.

"I'm here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on," he said gently, as he looked into my eyes sincerely.

I just buried my face into his chest and allowed a few sobs to escape from me; I felt a lot better after that. I pulled away from him and then noticed that I had left quite a patch of tears on Cloak's uniform.  
"Sorry about that," I said, as I pulled a hanky out of my pocket and started to dab up the mess I had made.

"No problem. This is the first time I've ever seen you cry," said Cloak, as he took the hanky from me and started to dry himself up.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's okay. The guys were like your family; I understand that it's difficult for you to leave them."

I just nodded.

"So, when did you two meet?" asked the driver of the 'cab'. I hadn't really taken much notice as to what our driver was and I was surprised to see a Triceraton sitting in the driver's seat.

"We met when I was in prison," replied Cloak.

"Really? Well, you seem to be very sweet to her, Cloak; sweeter than you've ever been to a lady before."

"She's special to me, Zog."

"Zog?" I asked, as I remembered Zog from the Tmnt series.

"Yeah. Trooper Zog, serial number XJ4; why?"

"No reason, just… where did you two meet?"  
"Back in the academy," said Cloak.

"Yeah, we shared the same bunkhouse," added Zog.

"Oh, right,"

We didn't talk too much on the way back to the home world; I actually nodded off for a bit.

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When I woke up I heard Cloak and Zog talking about something; I was still a bit sleepy so I just stayed down and listened to their conversation.

"So, you really like her then, Cloak," said Zog.

"Yeah, I've never met a woman quite like her," replied Cloak.

My heart somewhat sank when I heard that; I had been crushing on Cloak for a few days now and hearing this kinda gave me that kicked in the stomach feeling.

"When you gonna ask her out?"

"Soon I hope. It's just that…"

"That?"

"Cal's very sensitive and I don't want to say something or do something that might offend her."

My eyes went wide and my mouth almost dropped open when I heard that. I was glad to hear that he actually did like me in the same way I liked him. I decided to listen in on their conversation to see what else Cloak was going to say, but I kept my eyes half-open to make it seem like I had just woken up in case someone saw that I was actually awake.

"Cloak, you might be doing so not asking her out," said Zog.

"I know, but every time I try to confess my feelings I get scared," explained Cloak.

"The great Cloak scared?"

"Hey! It's easier to go headlong into a dogfight with seven Federation ships than it is to confess your feelings to someone you care deeply for."

Just then Zog noticed my half-open eyes.

"Good morning, miss; sleep well?" he asked.

"Hello, what time is it?" I asked, as I got up and did my best acting to make it seem like I had just woken up.

"It's seven o'clock, we're just a few trigons from the home world," smiled Cloak. Obviously my act fooled him because he didn't seem too fazed by the fact that I had woken up in the middle of his conversation with Zog about his feelings for me.

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When we got back to the home world, Cloak took me back to his apartment and said that he would help me find out about the secretary job tomorrow morning. He showed me to a spare bedroom that he used when his parents came to visit him.

"You sure you'll be okay in here?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's nicer than the training area," I replied, as I put my bag down on the bed.

"Okay, but if you need anything just come find me. Got that?"

"Yes sir."

"Right, I'll leave you to settle in then." With that he walked out and headed into some other part of his apartment.

It was late so I really just had a quick bath and then got ready for bed. Just before I was about to climb into bed there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened and Cloak walked in.

"You going to bed already?" he asked.

"Yeah. Hey, I have one question for you."

"Yes."

"How come it took us so long to get back here? When I went there with the All-stars it was only two to two and a half helates, now it took how long?"

"Several helates."

"Why?"

"We were possibly going slower and there was quite a bit of traffic."

I hadn't seen any traffic except for one or two cruisers so I gave Cloak a 'say what' look.

"You were asleep for that area," said Cloak with a slight smile on his face.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Long enough; about three helates."

"Say what?"  
"That's why I'm asking if you're going to bed now."

"Dang, I must have looked like such a… I don't know what, but something to Zog and you."

"Don't worry about it. I kinda nodded off too."

"Poor Zog."

"Not exactly. We pulled over and I swapped places with him for a helate or so."

"That was nice of you."

Cloak just shrugged.

"So, are you still going to bed or what?" asked Cloak.

"I'm still going to bed; it has been an emotionally exhausting day," I replied.

"Okay, sleep well." Cloak turned to leave.

"Hold up a sec will yah?" Cloak stopped and looked at me over his shoulder.

I took a calming breath and then walked up to him.

"Something wrong?" he asked, as he turned to face me.

"No," I replied.

"Then what's up?"

I quickly gave him a kiss on his cheek and then backed up. Cloak put his hand onto his cheek and just looked at me a bit surprised.

"Good night," I smiled.

"Good night," he replied somewhat dazed. He turned around and walked straight into the doorframe. I tried not to laugh, but a giggle did escape.

"Yeah," said Cloak, as he backed out of the doorframe and went through the door.

I just shook my head at him, took my hair tie out of my hair, switched off the light and climbed into bed. I was asleep within a few minutes and I was sorta looking forward to tomorrow, a new day and a new job.


	16. Chapter 16

.Chapter sixteen.

The next day I woke up and was slightly confused by my surroundings, but then I remembered what had happened yesterday. I got out of bed and began to get dressed. I was kinda missing Bruno and his sweet way of saying good morning, but I decided not to dwell on the past and just carried on as normally as possible.

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I had just put my long sleeve top on when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said.

Cloak walked in and smiled at me.

"Good morning," he smiled somewhat smugly at me.

"Good morning." I returned his smile with one of my own.

"I've got breakfast ready for you in the kitchen."

"Thanks." I walked up to him, still straightening out my clothing.

"No problem." Cloak turned and led me out of the room and into the kitchen.

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The kitchen was quite small, but it was big enough to fit a small table, a few of the necessary appliances and a few cupboards.

"Nice little place you've got here, Cloak," I said.

"Thanks," smiled Cloak, as he pulled a chair out for me.

I sat down and he pushed it towards the table slightly.

"I hope you don't mind my cooking," said Cloak, as he sat down opposite me.

"It can't be any worse than Monza's," I replied.

"Come again."

"You tried his cooking?"

"No."

"I'm warning you now, don't."

"He that bad?"

"Worse."

Cloak just chuckled and started to eat his breakfast, as did I mine.

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After we had finished, Cloak put the dishes in the sink and we just sat at the table talking.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you something since I came into your room this morning," said Cloak, as he rubbed the back of his neck somewhat uneasily.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No, just… that kiss last night…"

"Oh, that." I just smiled and blushed slightly.

"Yeah, that; did it have any meaning?"

"Sorta."

"Oh." There was a hint of intrigue in Cloak's voice.

"It meant 'good night'."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed at my reply.

"Why? Did you want it to have some meaning more than 'good night'?"

"Well… uh… never mind. I'll be ready to take you down to see about that job in about half a helate; so, if you need to do anything before we go…"

"Okay. Thanks for breakfast, Cloak, it was definitely better than Monza's cooking." I got up from the table and turned to leave.

Cloak half smiled at me.

I smiled back and walked back to my room to make sure I was presentable for my new employer.

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Half a helate later, I walked into the living room area of Cloak's apartment; he was still in his room so I just waited there for him. There were quite a few pictures on the walls and on top of, I'm guessing, the mantle. There were pictures of families of Triceratons, pets, and of course of Cloak as he was growing up; he kinda stuck out like a sore thumb with those black lines in the grooves of his frill.

"I see you're admiring my gallery," said a voice from behind me. I turned 'round to see Cloak.

"Yeah. You've got a large family," I said.

"Eh."

"Do you see them much?"

"Every now and then."

"Right."

"Come on, we've wasted enough time talking about my family."

I gave him a look.

"What? I've got more important things to do than talk about them," he said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Finding you a job."

"Right."

"Come on then." Cloak turned to leave his apartment.

I shook my head at his impatience and followed him towards the apartment's door. He opened the door and allowed me to walk out first.

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We soon made it to a desk that stood just to the side of two **very** large doors.

"How can I help you?" asked an old female Triceraton.

"We're here to see if the secretary position is still open," said Cloak, as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yes, it's still open."

"After all this time?"

"Yes. No one wanted to take it, so my retirement has been on hold."

"Well, you're in luck today ma'am; my young friend here is willing to take the job."

"Really?" She looked at me with surprise and delight.

"So long as you tell her what to do and show her how to work the various pieces of equipment."

"I will, my boy, don't you worry. Are you sure you want this job young lady?"

"Yes ma'am, I really do want this job," I replied.

"Then welcome aboard. Now, Cloak, you better get going; you'll be late for your shift if you hang around here too much longer," said the old female Triceraton.

"Yes ma'am. I'll come by after my shift to see how you're doing, Cal," smiled Cloak, as he gave me a side hug.

"Okay," I replied with a smile.

"Take care of her, Marge."

"I will; now go! Shoo!" said Marge, as she gestured for him to get going.

"Okay, okay. See yah later, Cal," smiled Cloak, as he started to walk away.

"See yah later, Cloak," I smiled.

I watched him until he was out of sight.

"Should we get started with this crash course in how to be a secretary?" asked Marge

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

"Good let's get started then."

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Marge was an excellent teacher, even though there wasn't much to teach. Basically I just had to answer the phone, set appointments, and make sure my boss knew what was on his schedule for the day.

"Okay, I think that's it. Now, any questions?" asked Marge, as she picked up her bag and prepared to leave the desk for the last time.

"Just one," I replied.

"What is it, dear?"  
"Who's my boss?"

"You're Prime Leader Zanramon's new secretary."

I stared at her in surprise; I hadn't expected to be working for Zanramon.

"Everything okay, dear?" asked Marge, she seemed a bit uneasy about my silence and my stare.

"Yeah, fine," I replied with a smile.

"You still want the job now that you know who you're working for?"

"Of course. It'll be interesting to see what Zanramon's really like."

"Right." Marge looked at me as if I was completely nuts.

"What?" I asked.

"Not many people want to meet Zanramon; they usually see him as an intimidating, strict, somewhat irrational leader," said Marge.

"Well, I guess I'm just too curious to know better."

"Maybe. Well, goodbye, my dear; take care."

"Will do ma'am."

Marge nodded and then took her leave.

Once Marge was out of sight I sat down in the chair that was at the desk and waited for my first assignment.

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Within three trigons of Marge leaving the intercom rang. I pressed the button to speak.

"Yes," I replied a bit hesitantly.

"Come through to the throne room, Marge," came a familiar voice from the intercom.

"Yes sir." The intercom went off with a beep. Marge had told me that 'my boss' would ring sooner or later that morning to have his schedule brought to him; so, I collected the schedule that she had left and walked into the throne room, which was just through the doors that were behind the desk.

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I opened the doors and walked in. The area I was in was quite dark even with the doors open. I started to walk towards Zanramon's throne at the other end of the room; the doors closed behind me.

"You sounded a bit hesitant today, Marge, something wrong?" asked Zanramon, he was sitting as tall as he could on his throne.

"It's just that…," I started.

"You sound different. Are you sure you're okay?" Zanramon couldn't see me just yet because I was still in the shadows at the far end.

"You'll see the problem shortly, sir." Zanramon looked a bit taken aback by that.

As I walked into the lighter area near him, his eyes widened.

"You're not Marge," he said, as he looked me over quickly.

"Yes sir, I took her place this morning," I replied, as I stopped at the steps in front of his throne.

"You look familiar. Have we met?"

"You and Commander Mozar kidnapped me from my home planet, Earth. You were also the one who gave me my atmosphere converter."

"Oh, yes; now I remember. You were actually quite a decent captive, but, uh, I thought we put you in prison."

"You did, but I was given a job with the All-stars as their maid."

"Right, but the All-stars are on a tour now."

"That's why I'm with you now, sir. They couldn't take me with them and so I came back here and found this job with the aid of a friend of mine."

"Are you living with this friend?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if I can stay with him forever."

"Why not?"  
"Well, Cloak's a pilot and I don't know what his job really entails so…"

"Wait!"

"Sir?"  
"What did you say your friend's name was?"

Am I stupid or what? Cloak was the one who defaced Zanramon's statue.

"Well?" asked Zanramon, getting impatient.

"His name's Cloak," I replied with a bit of a cringe. This was possibly going to spark off a shouting session and my being fired.

"The one who defaced my statue I believe." Zanramon tapped his fingers along the armrest of his throne.

"Uh…"

"No need to reply; I know who he is. He's the only pilot named 'Cloak' that we've ever had." Zanramon gritted his teeth some.

I didn't know what to say.

"Well, he may have quite an irrational schedule. I suggest you come stay with me in my palace," said Zanramon.

I was about to say, 'Usually mad Prime Leader say what?' but I decided to keep quiet; so I just looked at him surprised.

"Don't look so surprised, my dear. I can be hospitable when I want to be," smiled Zanramon. I couldn't quite tell from where I was, but I was sure that he had just looked me over; more thoroughly than when I had been walking towards him.

"Did Marge have the same deal?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"No, but you're different and I think you'll make excellent company in the palace."

I just looked at him a bit queerly.

"Do you have my schedule?" asked Zanramon, as he held out his hand for me to hand him the papers.

"Yes sir. You seem to have quite a full day today," I replied, as I stepped up a few stairs and handed the papers to him.

He nodded a thanks to me and then started to read the schedule, while I stood there waiting to be dismissed.

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After a trigon's worth of waiting, I wondered if I was supposed to just leave on my own accord. I started to turn to leave.

"I haven't said that you can leave yet," said Zanramon, as he peered at me over the top of the paper.

"Sorry sir, I didn't know," I apologised.

"Of course you didn't; you're new. Hmm." Zanramon looked at the papers he had in his hand.

"Something wrong sir?"

"Marge was an excellent secretary, but the woman still hasn't learnt how to write legibly."

I nearly giggled at his obvious irritation, but I was just able to stifle it.

"I mean can you read this?" asked Zanramon, as he held the papers out to me again.

I stepped up a few steps again and took the papers from him. I looked at the papers and I couldn't make heads or tails of it because it was all written in Triceratonese; and very squiggly Triceratonese at that.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know how to read Triceratonese," I apologised.

"And with her hand writing you'll never learn," said Zanramon.

I just looked at him.

"Can you read the numbers next to the chicken scratch?" asked Zanramon.

"Yes sir, but… did you just say chicken scratch?" I asked, as I looked at Zanramon in a bit of surprise.

"Yes. We Triceratons do know a few Earth phrases, my dear."

"Right."

"So, you can read the numbers."

"Yes sir."  
"Then phone them and ask them what their appointments were for."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

I nodded, turned on my heels and then started to walk out of the room again.

"Hold on a second," said Zanramon.

I stopped and turned to look at him.

"I don't even know you name," he said with a smile.

"It's Cal, sir," I replied with a smile.

"Cal; that's a nice name."

"Thanks."

"You're dismissed, my dear; we've already wasted enough of the day on talking."  
"Yes sir." With that I turned back towards the doors and walked out of the room.

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I spent the next helate calling up all of the numbers and re-entering their information; unfortunately I had to write it in our characters because I still didn't know how to write in Triceratonese. I had just finished calling the last number when I heard the intercom beep. I pressed the button to talk.

"Yes," I said, a bit more confidently this time.

"That sounds better," said Zanramon.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"You can tell me whether or not you're done with my schedule."

"Yes sir, it's done."

"Good. Can you bring it to me then?"

"Yes sir. I'll be there in a moment."

"Very good."

I switched off the intercom, picked up the schedule, and walked into the throne room.

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I came to stop at the foot of the steps that led up to Zanramon's throne.

"Come up here, my dear, I don't bite often," smiled Zanramon.

I just smiled, walked up the steps, and handed him the schedule.

Zanramon looked through the schedule and looked at me a bit exasperated.

"I kinda had to write it in my native characters because I don't know how to write in Triceratonese, sir," I said a bit uneasily.

"That's okay, Cal, just read it out to me," said Zanramon, as he handed me the papers back.

"Very well, sir. The whole thing?"  
"No, just who's first."

"Yes sir. First you have Morazar."  
"For what?"

"He wants to talk to you about the level of training the soldiers are receiving."  
"He's always going on about that. Thanks."

"Anytime sir."

"It'll be every time until you learn to read and write Triceratonese."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

"Yes sir." I walked down the steps and started to head towards the door.

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I walked back out to my desk and sat down in the chair again. Not much happened while I waited for Morazar to arrive. When he did I admitted him into the throne room, as Marge had told me to do, and then went back to waiting for the phone to ring or for Zanramon to call me. Fortunately my boredom was cut short by a familiar Triceraton coming down the hallway towards me.

"Hi," smiled Cloak, as he came up to my desk.

"Hi. You off duty so early?" I asked.

"Yeah. So, how's your first day on the job going?"

"Okay."

"How's your new boss?"

"He's fine."  
"Who is your boss?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Of course I don't; I've never been down this way before."

"My boss is Prime Leader Zanramon."

Cloak just stared at me.

"You asked," I said.

"And you're still on the job?" asked Cloak.

"Yeah. Zanramon seems to like me."

"Right. So, you free for lunch?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I've got work to do."

"Yeah, but surely you've got a lunch break sooner or later."

"Yeah, but I've got to at least see the next appointment in."

"Right. Hey, did I keep you awake at all with my, uh, snoring last night? I forgot to ask you when we were having breakfast."

"No."

"Right, then I don't have to give you a pair of ear plugs."

"You wouldn't have had to even if I was staying at your place tonight."  
"Come again."

"What?"

"It sounded like you implied that you weren't going to be spending the night at my place."

"That's right."  
"Where are you going to stay then?"

"Zanramon 'suggested' that I stay with him in his palace."

"I can see why you didn't turn that one down." Cloak folded his arms and turned his back on me.

"Cloak, it's not that I don't like staying with you."

"Then what is it?" Cloak turned back to me and unfolded his arms.

"Well, living with you is something that I think I need to work up to."

"Hey, if you're thinking that you have to earn a spot at my place…"

"No, I know you'll let me stay without hesitation. It's just that…"

"It's a bit awkward stayin' with someone who you've only just gotten back together with?"

"Sorta, yeah."

"Okay. Maybe someday you'll come live with me."

"Perhaps." I smiled at him.

"Right, but until then I'll come visit you daily."

"Thanks." Just then the next appointment arrived.

"Hi, I'm Mr. Zargo; I'm here to see Zanramon about his proposed solution to the war," said Mr. Zargo.

"Yes sir. Zanramon will be with you within the helate; I hope," I said.

"Why do you say that?"

"He's been in there with Morazar for at least a helate or so."

"Right." Just then Morazar came out of the throne room in a bit of a bad mood.

"Cal!" snapped a voice from the intercom.

"Sir?" I asked, as I pressed the button to talk.

"Is my next appointment here?"

"Yes sir."

"Send him in."

"Yes sir." I stood up and led Mr. Zargo through to the throne room.

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After admitting Mr. Zargo into the throne room and telling Zanramon what he wanted to talk to him about, I rejoined Cloak out by my desk.

"You shouldn't allow him to snap at you like that," said Cloak, with a bit of a scowl on his face.

"He's just wound up; possibly from a heated debate with Morazar," I said.

"Right. Now that you've admitted the next appointment in can we get going?"

"Where?"  
"To lunch."  
"Sure."

"Good." I walked out from behind my desk and followed Cloak towards his apartment again.

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After lunch, Cloak walked me back to my desk. As we turned the corner to my desk we saw Zanramon standing at it, he caught sight of us and gave me a glare while he tapped his foot on the floor. I quickened my pace a bit, as not to keep him waiting.

"Where have you been?" asked Zanramon, as he narrowed his eyes.

"She was having lunch with me," said Cloak, before I could reply.

"I wasn't talking to you, Cloak."

"I'm sorry. I should have left a note, sir," I said before Cloak could get another word in; the last thing I needed now was a fight between them.

"Yes, you should have, but from now on I think it would be best if you took your lunch break with me, Cal," said Zanramon.

"She's very responsible, Zanramon, she would be back in time," said Cloak, as he stood up to his full height.

"All the same, I would prefer it if she would take her lunch break with me," said Zanramon, as he too stood up to his full height.

I was starting to feel very small between them.

Just then Cloak's communicator went off.

"I believe that'll be your commanding officer," smirked Zanramon, as Cloak pulled out his communicator.

"It is. I'll come by later to say good night, Cal," said Cloak, as he prepared to leave.

"Okay," I smiled.

Cloak nodded, gave Zanramon a look, and then left.

"How do you stand him?" asked Zanramon.

"He's sweet," I smiled.

Zanramon just rolled his eyes and started to walk back into the throne room.

"You're fortunate that no one called while you were gone," said Zanramon.

"Yeah," I replied.

"We'll be leaving for the palace in four helates."

"Sir?"

"You heard me. It has been a hard day and when I leave you come with me. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Zanramon nodded and walked back into the throne room.


	17. Chapter 17

.Chapter seventeen.

It's been an orbital cycle since I started working for Zanramon. It's not that bad actually, but I don't see Cloak very often. When he's free, I'm usually working with Zanramon and when I'm free he's usually busy with his job. I do get a strange feeling that Zanramon purposefully makes sure I'm in the throne room with him when Cloak's off duty so that I can't see him, but it's just a feeling. I'm kinda enjoying staying with Zanramon in his palace, but it's not at homey as Cloak's apartment; my room's just a few doors down from Zanramon's. My Triceratonese is getting better; Zanramon's teaching me, he's actually a very good and patient teacher.

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Currently I'm waiting for Zanramon's next appointment to arrive, the head prison warden.

"Darn pencil," I said, as I dropped my pencil for at least the twentieth time today. It had rolled under the desk so I had to go under the desk after it. While I was trying to find my pencil the appointment arrived.

"Hello," he said.

"Hold on a sec, I'll be up there in a jiffy," I said, as I pulled myself out from under the desk, pencil in hand.

"Zimmer!" I said in surprise.

"Cal," smiled Zimmer.

"What are you doing here? I was expecting…"

"The head prison warden?"

"Yes."

"You're looking at him."

"No joke?"

"Nope. Got promoted a few cycles ago."

"Excellent. How have you been?"

"Fine. You?" Zimmer leaned his elbows onto my desk.  
"Just fine thanks."

"You're moving up in the world."

"Come again."

"This job. From inmate, to maid, to secretary for Prime Leader Zanramon."

"Well…"

"You're even more beautiful than when I last saw you."

"Zimmer."

"Yes."

"Stop it."  
"You've never said that to me." He looked a bit taken aback by that.

"There's a first time for everything."

"I suppose. So, you seeing someone then?"  
"No."

"So you're available."

"I'm warning you now, Zimmer."

"Sorry. So, you seen your prison buddy Cloak again?"

"Yes, I saw him about a cycle ago."

"Wow, long time; I thought you liked him."

"I do." I was hoping that that would get Zimmer to drop all ideas about trying his luck with me.

"Well, well, haven't we become very forward."

"I've been working with a couple of people who help build your self esteem, Zimmer."

"So I see."

Just then the intercom rang.

"Yes sir," I said, as I pressed the button to talk.

"Is my next appointment here yet, my dear?" asked Zanramon.

"Yes sir; I'll send in him immediately."

"Thanks."

I switched off the intercom and then noticed that Zimmer had a sly/amused look on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"My dear?" he asked with a grin.

"It's just a name he uses for me." I got up from the desk and started to lead him to the throne room doors.

"Still, it's a term of endearment."

I just shook my head.

"Cloak better watch it; he may end up loosing you to Zanramon," smiled Zimmer.

"Just go through to your meeting," I said, as I opened the doors and gestured for him to enter.

Zimmer just chuckled as he walked into the throne room.

I closed the doors behind him and returned to my desk.

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I had just sat down at my desk when I felt something grab my leg from under the desk. I shot out from my desk with a small squeak. Then I heard someone going into hysterics. I looked under the desk and saw a familiar face.

"Cloak!" I reprimanded.

"Sorry, but that was too good of an opportunity to pass up," he chuckled, as he unfolded himself from under the desk.

"How in the world did you get in there and without me seeing you?"

"I arrived a minute after Zimmer did and just stayed hidden around the corner. Once I heard you showing him through to the throne room, I crept through to your desk and hid under it."

"How did you fit in there?"

"With difficulty."  
I just shook my head.

"So, you like me then," smiled Cloak.

I was kicking myself for saying that now.

"So?" asked Cloak.

"What if I do?" I asked.

"The feeling's mutual then."

"I know."

"Girl-who-usually-say-'say what' say what?"

"You've been watching **way **to much earth TV."

"I can't help that, so?"

"Remember when we were coming back from Shiniza 8, I fell asleep?"

"Ye-es."

"Well, I woke up while you and Zog were having your discussion on your feelings for me."  
"You little actress! I thought you had only woken up when Zog noticed that your eyes were open."

"Thanks for the compliment." I started to move my chair back to it's usual spot.

"So, uh, now that we know how the other feels…," started Cloak.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You mind playin' a little hooky?"

"Come again."

"You heard me; skip work for a bit."  
"Cloak."  
"Don't 'Cloak' me, sweetheart. You and I haven't seen each other for an entire cycle."

I just looked at him.

"So?" he asked hopefully.  
"Let me get in this last appointment and then I'll go with you," I replied with a smile.

"Excellent! Mind if I just hang around here until then?"

"No."

"Good." I sat down at my desk again and started to fill out a few forms.

"Chances of you spending the weekend at my place?" asked Cloak, as he placed his hand onto my shoulder.

"Slim," I replied, as I put my hand onto his.

"I'm sure I could twist Zanramon's tail to get him to say yes."  
"Knowing you and your feelings towards Zanramon I'm guessing that you would literally twist his tail."

"Yeah, but I don't mind doing it the metaphoric way for you."  
I just smiled at him.

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After admitting the last appointment in, I wrote a note to Zanramon and left it on my desk telling him that I would be back by about eight or so that evening.

"Ready?" asked Cloak, impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on; I'm coming," I replied, as I put my note somewhere obvious for Zanramon.

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After leaving my desk, Cloak took me through to a small park that he knew of on the other side of the home world.

"Hardly anyone comes here anymore," he said, as we walked through the gates into the park.

"Why?" I asked.

"Too quiet for their liking."  
"Right."

"A few couples still come here, but that's usually only at night."

I just smiled at him.

"So, uh, how has work been treating you?" asked Cloak, as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"It's okay," I replied.

"And Zanramon?"

"He's okay."

"Has he been yelling at you a lot?"

"No, he's actually very sweet once you get to know him, Cloak."

Cloak scoffed.

"I'll believe that when he ends this senseless war," said Cloak.

"You're starting to sound like a certain Triceraton from that TV series I used to watch on earth," I smiled, remembering Traximus.

"Oh yeah, who?"

"His name was Traximus."  
Cloak suddenly stopped.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't mean the gladiator Traximus."

"You mean he's…"

"He's as real as you and me, sweetheart."

"No joking?"

"No joking. He's an old friend of mine; I'll take you 'round to see him after we've walked through the park."  
"Great, it'll be nice to see what he's really like in comparison with his cartoon counterpart."

Cloak just smiled at me and started to walk again.

"So how's work treating you?" I asked.

"It's okay, I guess," replied Cloak.

"Just okay?"

"Well that's what your job's like, isn't it?"

"Touché."

"Beg pardon."

"Touché is a French word meaning… uh..."

"Yes?"  
"I don't exactly know what it means, but it's a French word that we use in our English vocabulary."

"Right."  
"What exactly does your work entail?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?"

"No. It's just me being my nosy self. So?"

"(Sighs) Basically it just entails me having to stand watch, practise my aerial and ground manoeuvres, and be bossed about by my superior officers."

"Any paper work?"

"Only when our commanding officer has too much to cope with, which is often."

I just smiled and laughed silently.

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We spent another helate or so walking through the park and then headed towards the Tri-sports arena. It was kinda nice being back in familiar territory.

"The All-stars still on their tour?" I asked, as we passed by the training room.

"I think so. They won't be back for about two more cycles," replied Cloak.

"Right." I started to remember all the good times I had had with the All-stars, Zap, Burn, and Bruno.  
"Do you miss working with them?" asked Cloak.

"A bit. They were kinda like my adopted family," I replied.

Cloak just smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulders in a comforting fashion.

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Eventually we made it to the gladiators quarters. There were two guards standing outside of the doors.

"Cloak, nice to see you. Who's you friend?" asked one of the guards.  
"Hi Zig, hi Zag," smiled Cloak.

The other guard nodded a hello to Cloak.

"Question; answer please," said Zig.

"Right, sorry. Zig, Zag, this is my young friend Cal; she's that off-worlder that Zanramon abducted about half a year ago," said Cloak.

"This the little one you've been talking to us about?" asked Zag.

"What if she is?" asked Cloak.

The two looked at each other and then at Cloak.

"Don't start," said Cloak.

"Okay, okay. What are you doing here anyway?" asked Zig.

"I've brought my friend here to see Traximus; if that's okay with you guys."  
"Course it is. Just watch out in there, hey. Some of the gladiators have been a bit edgy of late."

Cloak nodded as Zag opened the door for us. We walked in and were met by Gruell.

"What brings you here, Cloak?" asked Gruell.

"I've brought my young friend to see Traximus. Is he in?" asked Cloak.

"He's gone for his medical, but he'll be back within the next few trigons."

"Can we wait here for him?"  
"Yes, you can, but I don't recommend it."

"We'll be fine."

"Suit yourself." With that Gruell walked away to see to some guards who were standing a few meters away from us.

"Come on," said Cloak, as he led me over to a darkened corner of the room.

"We can wait here for Traximus," said Cloak, as he sat down on a small bench and patted a spot next to him to indicate where I was supposed to sit. I sat down and we waited for Traximus to return from his medical.


	18. Chapter 18

.Chapter eighteen.

We didn't have to wait too long for Traximus to come in. He looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise he looked like typical old Trax.

"Traximus," said Cloak, as he stood up from his position next to me and started to walk towards Traximus.

"Cloak, what are you doing here?" asked Traximus, as he smiled and walked up to Cloak.

"I've brought a friend of mine here to see you." Cloak signalled to me to come to his side.

"Traximus, this is my friend Cal," said Cloak, as he put an arm around my shoulders and held me close to him.

"Pleased to meet you, little one. I'm Traximus," smiled Traximus, as he held out a hand for me to shake.

"She knows who you are, Traximus."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, but it's a pleasure to meet you, Traximus," I smiled, as I shook his hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, my dear," smiled Traximus.

There was a slight pause in the conversation as the three of us looked for something to talk about.

"So, Cloak, is she the one you've been telling me about?" asked Traximus.

"Yes, she is," replied Cloak, as he squeezed my shoulders slightly.

"I heard you were working for Zanramon, Cal; how is that going?"

"Okay," I replied.

Traximus just nodded and gave me a disbelieving looking.

"She's doing fine there, Traximus," said Cloak.

"Right. I suggest you keep a close eye on her, Cloak," said Traximus.

"Why?"

"There's a small rumour going around concerning Zanramon's feelings for his newest secretary."

"Really? I haven't heard that one yet."

"I heard it from the guards the other day."

"You Triceratons really seem to enjoy gossiping," I said.

"Well, when you hear things you do tend to pass them on," said Traximus with a slight smile.

"Thanks for the info, Trax; I'll keep my eyes open," smiled Cloak.

Traximus nodded.

Just then we heard a whip crack.

"Listen up, Meat," started Gruell.

"You better get going," said Cloak.

"Yes. I'll see you around, Cloak," said Traximus, as he turned to leave us.

"Right. Come on, Cal, let's get going." Cloak started to lead me out of the gladiators' room.

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The rest of the day was really just spent walking around the home world, but eventually we started to head back to my desk.

"I enjoyed our day out, Cloak," I said, as we neared the sector where Zanramon's throne room was located.

"I enjoyed it too, Cal; I just wish we could spend a bit more time together," said Cloak.

"We'll just have to make a plan."

"I suppose so." Cloak smiled at me.

We walked up to my desk and I saw a note on it. I picked it up and read it quickly; it was from Zanramon.

"What's that?" asked Cloak.

"It's just a note from Zanramon," I replied.

"What does it say?"

"It says, 'no more disappearing without my permission. Understood?'"

"Now what would happen if you said no?"

"I would be in serious trouble."

"I suppose so."

There was a momentary silence.

"So-o, I'll see you 'round, right?" asked Cloak.

"Yeah," I replied. Cloak seemed to be a bit agitated by something.

"Something wrong, Cloak?" I asked.

"No. Good night," said Cloak.

"Good night."

He lingered for a bit and then turned to leave.

"Cloak," I said quickly.

"Yeah?" he asked, as he looked at me over his shoulder.

"Come here a second please."

Cloak smiled, I guess he guessed what I was going to do next.

"Yes?" he smiled.

"Good night," I said, as I gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Good night." What Cloak did next took me by complete surprise; he kissed me on my lips. It was just a quick kiss, but still.

"Cloak," I said somewhat surprised.

"We-ll, we have to move it on from just kissing each other on the cheek sooner or later," he smiled smugly.

"Good night." I smiled at him and walked off towards my room that was just a few minutes away.

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The next day, after getting to work a bit earlier than usual, I was met by a very grumpy Zanramon.

"Good morning, sir," I smiled.

He just growled and walked into his throne room, slamming the door behind him.

I just looked a bit stunned at his actions.

"If you want to know why he's in such a bad mood, look in a mirror," came a deep voice from behind me.

I turned around to see who it was. It was Commander Mozar.

"Good morning, Commander Mozar, how can I help you?" I asked.

"You can help me by getting him into a good mood," replied Mozar.

"And how am I supposed to do that? You know how difficult he is when he's in a bad mood."

"And you're the reason he's in a bad mood."

"Why?"

"Your going out with Cloak last night."

"But Cloak and I are friends."

"That kiss he gave you last night didn't say 'friends'." My eyes widened.

"How did you know about that?"

"I have my sources."

"Right."

"Zanramon does have feelings for you, you know."

"Now I do. Traximus also said something about that."

"Traximus?"

"Yes, Cloak and I went to see him yesterday."

"I should have known those two were friends."

"Hey, the one's a rebel and the other's a rebel gone pilot."

"Perhaps, but Cloak still retains the ability to go rebel on us again."

"Every Triceraton has that ability, Mozar."

Mozar just nodded.

"So, what do you suggest I do to get Zanramon out of this bad mood?" I asked.

"Perhaps you could spend this evening with him," said Mozar.

"That's gonna be a very awkward thing to ask."

"So?"

I thought about this for a bit.

"Fine. For everyone else's sake," I said in surrender.

"Good," smiled Mozar, as he started to walk away from my desk and towards his first appointment of the day.

Once he was out of sight I started to get Zanramon's schedule together.

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I had just put the last of the appointments onto Zanramon's schedule when the intercom rang.

"Yes sir," I said sweetly.

"Do you have my schedule?" asked Zanramon in a grumpy tone.

"Yes sir."

"Then bring it in."

"Yes sir." I got up from my desk, picked up the schedule and walked towards the throne room. I breathed a calming breath before I entered, because I know what Zanramon can be like when he's in a bad mood, and walked into the throne room.

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As I neared Zanramon I could see that he was in a very bad mood.

"Good morning, sir," I said, trying to open up a conversation.

"Hello," he said plainly.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"No."

"Then that explains part of your mood this morning."

Zanramon gave me a look.

"You've got some nerve saying that, Cal," said Zanramon.

I just smiled at him; he reluctantly smiled back.

"So, you doing anything tonight?" I asked, as I handed him his schedule.

"No, why?" he asked, as he looked through his schedule.

"Just thought that if you weren't doing anything…"

"Yes." Zanramon's eyes lightened up as he looked at me from the corner of his right eye. I was struggling to say it; I didn't want him to misinterpret this.

"That we could… spend the evening together."

Zanramon put his schedule down onto his lap and smiled at me, obviously pleased by what he had just heard.

"Of course. Anywhere in particular that you had thought of for our evening together?" he asked, as he picked his schedule up again.

"No," I replied simply.

"Then I'll take care of that."

"Yes sir."

"And Cal…"

"Yes sir."

"Don't be so formal; just call me 'Zanramon'."

"Very well, s…" Zanramon gave me a look that cut me short.

"Zanramon," I finished.

Zanramon smiled and returned his attention to his schedule.

"Your handwriting is becoming more legible," he commented.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"You're dismissed."

I nodded, turned on my heels, and walked out of the throne room.

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The rest of the day went by without much interference, except for Cloak showing up three helates before I was due to leave work.

"Hi," he smiled, as he walked up to my desk with a duffel-like bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hi," I smiled at him.

"How you doing?" He slid his bag off of his shoulder and dropped it in front of my desk.

"Fine, and you?"

"Fine… now anyway." He put his hands on my desk

I just gave him a look.

"Hey, I'm the only pilot who's gir…," started Cloak, but he stopped mid-sentence.

"Who's what?" I asked.

"Never mind. I'm the only one who doesn't get a visitor."

"You poor thing." I gave him a sarcastic look.

"You could stop by on your lunch break."

"Cloak, you know full well that spend those with Zanramon."

"I know, I know; it's just that… (sighs exasperatedly) I do enjoy your company."

"And I enjoy yours."

"Thanks."

Cloak thought for a moment.

"Something wrong?" I asked, as I started to wonder why he was looking so thoughtful.

"You busy this evening?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes."

"What?"

"I said yes; I'm busy tonight, Cloak."

"With what? Zanramon isn't making you take your work home with you is he?"

"No, just… I'm kinda spending this evening with Zanramon."

"Business or…"

"Not strictly business, no."

Cloak's mouth dropped open and his shoulder's sagged.

"You okay?" I asked.

"W-w-what are you doing going out with Zanramon?" he squeaked.

"Calm down. It's just to get him into a better mood."  
Cloak gave me an odd look.

"He came into work in a bad mood and Mozar suggested that I ask him if I could spend the evening with him," I explained.

"Look, I don't trust Zanramon alone with you," said Cloak, as he leaned closer to me.

I just smiled at him and put my hand onto his cheek. He put his hand onto mine.

"It's just for tonight. I'll be available from tomorrow evening," I said reassuringly.

"Okay," said Cloak, admitting defeat.

"Okay." I removed my hand from his cheek and he, somewhat reluctantly, released my hand.

"I'll see you 'round then."

"You bet."

"Right. Good night then."

"Good night."

I went back to my paper work, but I was interrupted by Cloak clearing his throat.  
"Yes?" I asked, as I looked up at him.

"Come on," he said, as he walked around to my side of my desk.

"You're joking."

"Since when do I joke about this?" Cloak grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me out of my chair and into his arms.

"Good night." I gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Good night." Cloak moved his lips closer to mine, but just before his lips made contact with mine I turned my head away from him and he kissed my cheek instead.

"Hey!" he protested, as soon as he realised what I had done.

"Cloak, we're not together," I said.

"So?"

I just gave him a look.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Thanks," I smiled.

Cloak released me and just before I could move or react he planted a quick kiss on my lips.

"Cloak!" I reprimanded, as he zipped 'round to the front of my desk, grabbed his bag, and then took off running in the direction of his apartment, laughing.

"What is it about that overgrown trike that I like?" I asked myself with a smile, as I sat down to my paper work.

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Three helates later, Zanramon comes out of his throne room and meets up with me at my desk.

"Ready to go, my dear?" he asked.

"Sure," I smiled, as I stood up and pushed my chair back under my desk.

Zanramon offered me his arm and I interlocked mine with his a bit hesitantly.

"Relax, my dear; you know I don't bite… often," he smiled, as he started to lead me away from my desk.

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Within a few minutes, I found myself in a sector of Zanramon's palace that I haven't been in before; I started to fidget a bit.

"Are you okay, my dear?" Zanramon asked, as he noticed my fidgeting.

"Yeah, just… I've never been in this side of the palace before," I replied. Zanramon smiled and released my arm from his. He then put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"You're quite safe, my dear," he smiled, as we came up to a large door. He put his hand next to a sensor and the door opened. Inside was something that resembled a small sitting room; it's colour scheme was mostly black and red.

"Have a seat, my dear," said Zanramon, as he released his grip on my waist and walked off to a small table on the far side. I sat down on a sofa-like seat and looked around the room while I waited for Zanramon to join me.

"Relax, my dear; you're safe," said Zanramon, as he walked up to the sofa and sat next to me. I relaxed a bit, but I still didn't feel completely safe.

"Now, just so you know, I do know that you're only here so that I would be in a good mood today," said Zanramon with a smile. I just smiled at him uneasily.

"I don't mind though," he continued.

"You don't?" I asked.

"No. So, is there anything you would like to talk to me about?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Oh, what?"

"Why did you bring me to the Triceraton home world all those cycles ago?"

"Ah, I thought you would ask me that eventually."

"And?"

Before Zanramon could answer there was a knock at the door.

"I'll be right back," he said, as he got up and walked over to the door. I could just hear Commander Mozar's voice when Zanramon answered the door; this was possibly going to take a while.


	19. Chapter 19

.Chapter nineteen.

Several minutes later, Zanramon returned to his place next to me on the sofa.

"Sorry about that, just a bit of business that needed to be taken care of," said Zanramon, as he sat down again.

"No problem," I smiled.

"Now, what was it that you wanted to know, my dear?"

"Why you brought be to the Triceraton home world all those cycles ago."

"Oh yes. Well, we took you captive to be our hostage just in case any members of the Federation tried to cause us trouble."

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

"So, I'm really a prisoner of war."

"In a way yes, but you seem to have free roam of the home world."

I just shrugged.

"Now, forget the past. Let's focus on the here and now," said Zanramon, as he moved closer to me.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Haven't I told you everything there is to know?"

"I don't think so."

For the next two hours or so, Zanramon and I just swapped life stories, but he was starting to make me feel a bit uncomfortable as he inched his way closer to me and tried his best to get me to let him get his arm around me.

"What's the matter, my dear? You seem to be a bit on edge," Zanramon commented.

"I guess I'm just a bit tired, Zanramon," I replied; it wasn't a lie, it was late and I was starting to get tired.

"Oh. Well, I suppose you have spent quite a while with me."

I nodded in agreement.

"Well, good night, my dear," he said, as he looked me in the eye.

"Good night, Zanramon," I smiled, as I stood up. He stood up alongside me. I turned to leave, but I was stopped when Zanramon cleared his throat.

"Yes?" I asked, as I looked at him over my shoulder.

Zanramon walked up to me, as I turned to face him and, before I could object, his lips met mine. I pulled away as quickly as I could.

"Good night," Zanramon smiled contentedly.

"Good night," I replied slightly annoyed that he had done that. I walked out of the room with as much speed as I could without running.

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The next day, I arrived at work at the normal time and Zanramon still had a smug smile on his face.

"Good morning, my dear," he smiled, as he walked up to my desk.

"Good morning, Zanramon," I replied with a small smile.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself last night."

"How could I not?" I was currently thinking of several reasons.

"Excellent." With that he walked off to the throne room.

"At least he's in a better mood this morning," came a familiar voice.

I looked up and saw a group of female Triceratons; they were secretaries for various other high officials on the home world.

"Hi Cal," they chorused.

"Good morning, girls. What can I do for you?" I smiled.

"You can tell us how things went with Zanramon last night," said a light orange female with a red and white dress on.

"Okay."

"Just okay?" asked a reddish-brown female with a black and red dress on.

"Yeah, he was just… getting a bit too close for comfort is all."

Just then I noticed how they were looking at each other and then at me; that usually meant they had heard something and they wanted to tell me.

"What?" I asked with an amused smile.

"What, what?" asked the light orange female.

"Lara…"

"Okay, we over heard a conversation between two guards last night."

"And?"

"And they were talking about your friend Cloak."

"Oh."

"Yeah," smiled the orange female.

"And?"

"And he apparently has his eye on someone," said Lara.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean he's crushing on someone, big time."

"Oh. Well, who is it?"

"We're not sure, but…" Lara was cut short by Cloak walking up to my desk.

"Morning girls," he smiled.

"Morning Cloak," they smiled back.

"Morning Cal."

"Good morning, Cloak," I smiled.

"So, how was last night?" he asked, as he leaned on my desk.

"Had you been here a few seconds ago you would have heard," said Lara, before I could say anything.

He just looked at her.

"So?" he asked looking at me again.

"It was okay," I replied.

"Okay? I thought it would have been terrible."

I just smiled and shook my head.

"So, uh, you… free tonight?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Then how about you come for a walk with me this evening?"

"Sure."

"Uh, Cloak…," said Lara.

"Yes?" asked Cloak.

"We over heard a little rumour about you having a crush on someone."

"And?"

"Who is it?"  
"Someone."

"Anyone we know?"

"Perhaps. Now, if you ladies will excuse me…"

"Of course."

"See you later, Cal." Cloak started to walk off in the direction of the pilot's hangar.

"I think we've just found out who Cloak's crush is on," said Lara.

"Who?" I asked.

"You!" exclaimed the girls in unison.

"Look, I know Cloak likes me and he knows that I like him, but he hasn't made a single move."

"Has he tried to kiss you yet?"

"He's… kissed me a couple of times."

"O-o-o."

"**But** they haven't been passionate, just quick and not extremely special."

"Mmhmm."

"Don't you girls have something else to do besides discuss my non-existent love life?"

"I suppose so. Come on, girls, our jobs need to be done," Lara sighed, as she started to walk away with the others in tow. Just then the intercom rang.

"Yes," I replied.

"Do you mind bringing in my schedule, my dear?" Zanramon asked.

"Coming." I gathered up the schedule and took it through to Zanramon.

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Later that evening, when I was just about to finish packing up for the day, I received a phone call.

"You've reached the Prime Leader's secretary, how can I help you?" I asked.

"Hi, we would like to make a last minute appointment for this evening," said a voice.

"Okay, who is it for?"

"A Mr. Ram."

"Okay, we've got a spot open now. Do you think you can make it here in a trigon?"

"Yes, we're on our way now."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Thanks. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." I put the phone down and continued to pack up.

"Stupid pencil," I grumbled, as my pencil fell off of my desk and disappeared under it. I got out of my chair and went under my desk to find it. While I was under there the appointment arrived.

"Hello," called a voice from above me.

"I'll be there in a minute," I said, as I retrieved my pencil. Just then I heard a bark; I froze, my eyes widened. I shot out from under the desk and smiled at who was in front of me.

"Guys!" I exclaimed.

"Cal!" exclaimed the All-stars, Zap, and Burn. Bruno barked his hello. I ran around the side of my desk and straight into the arms of Monza Ram.

"Guys, I've missed you so much," I said, tears were starting to form in my eyes.

"We've missed you too, Cal," said Monza, as he squeezed me tight and then released me. Just then I was bowled over by Bruno who was now the size of a mastiff.

"Bruno! Oh Bruno," I said, as I hugged his three necks. I received a big, wet lick from each head. Mixx and Xiote helped me up off of the floor and gave me a hug. Next I was crushed between Daz and Burn, and then I faced Zap.

"Wow, you've filled out," I smiled, as I gave him a friendly punch on the arm.

"Thanks. You're looking… much the same," he smiled, as he opened his arms to hug me.

"Good, at least I'm not looking older." I walked up to him and hugged him.

"Since when did you care about age?"

I just smiled as I hugged him tighter.

"Isn't this sweet?" came Cloak's voice from behind us.

"Hi Cloak," smiled Monza.

"What are you guys doing back so soon?"

"Tour was cut short."

"By?"

"By us. We got tired of travelling and decided to come home."

"Right. Ready to go, Cal?"

"Just about," I smiled, as I released Zap.

"You two an item?" asked Burn.

"No, just good friends," Said Cloak.

"Hasn't he made a move yet?" whispered Zap.

"Sorta," I replied.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Mixx.

"Nothing to concern you, Mixx," replied Zap.

"There's something different about you, kid," commented Cloak.

"Yeah, I also noticed something different, but I wasn't sure what it was," I agreed.

"Well, uh…," started Zap as his face went a bit red.

"He's our newest gladiator," said Monza.

"No kidding?" I asked.

"Yeah. Surprisingly it isn't very stressful," Zap smiled.

"How is that, by the way?"

"What?"

"Your stress related windpipe constrictions."

"Oh, yeah, well, they're getting less and less actually."

"Good."

Cloak whistled and pointed to his timepiece.

"Eager?" asked Monza playfully.

"Sorta," smiled Cloak.

"We'll come by sometime and catch up with you," said Burn.

"Okay. Let me just show them through to Zanramon's throne room, Cloak, and then I'll be with you," I said, as I started to lead the All-stars through to the throne room.

Cloak just nodded and waited with his arms crossed.

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After admitting the All-stars, Burn and Bruno into the throne room, I walked up to Cloak.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Whenever you are," I smiled.

"Then let's go." Cloak put his arm around me and started to lead me off towards the park.

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We walked in silence for a majority of the way there, until Cloak decided to break the silence.

"Cal," he said.

"Yes," I replied.

"You've never told me when your hatching day is."

"Hatching day?"

"Yes." I thought about this for a second and then realised that he meant birthday.

"Oh, right."

"Well?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not? We're friends aren't we?"

"Yes, but…"

"But what?"

"I just don't like being made a fuss of."

Cloak just gave me a weird look.

"What?" I asked.

"Who doesn't like being made a fuss of?"

"Me."

"Come on… tell me."

"No."

"Fine, then I'll just have to give you this." Cloak handed me a box.

"What's this?"

"You have to open it to find out."

I gave him a look, but he just smiled at me. I opened the box and found a horn in it and a card. I took out the card and read it quickly. It said:

Dear Cal,

I don't know when your hatching day is, so I'm giving this to you now. Also, I'm hoping this isn't too formal, but I was wondering, would you consider going steady with me?

Love,

Cloak.

I didn't know what to say to the last bit.

"So?" Cloak asked.

"I… I…," I stuttered.

Cloak looked a bit disheartened by my hesitation. I took in a calming breath, closed my eyes and said, "Of course."

"Yo-you mean it?" he asked with a smile starting to spread across his face.

"Yes," I smiled, as I opened my eyes and turned to look at him.

I suddenly found myself in Cloak's arms almost being crushed in a bear hug. I hugged him back as best I could, considering my arms were basically pinned to my sides.

"Thanks," he said, as he loosened his grip on me.

"No problem," I replied.

We let each other go and then Cloak took the box from my hand. He removed the horn from it, revealing that it was actually a pendant on a necklace.

"I hope you don't mind, but I made this for you," he said, as he slipped the cord over my head and around my neck.

"Of course not, just… whose horn is it?" I asked.

"It's mine."

"Yours?"

"Yes, I kept it after it was broken off, during that fight back on Shiniza 8, so that I could, one day, give it to you as a token of my love."  
"Oh Cloak."

Cloak just smiled at me.

A short silence ensued as we both took in all that had just happened, but it didn't last long.

"So, uh, now that we're together and the All-stars are back in town…," he started.

"Yes," I asked; I kinda knew what he was going to say.

"Do you still have to work for Zanramon?"

"Cloak."

"I know, I know, but really how are we supposed to be together with him in the way?"

"We'll find a way 'round it."

He just looked at me.

"We will. Don't you worry."

"Do you still have to live near him?"

"Don't get jealous."

"Oh, I'm not getting jealous."

"Good."  
"I already am." I just smiled at him and shook my head.

"I'll… I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. Come on, before we're considered an obstacle." Cloak had seen another couple coming our way. He put his arm around me and started to lead me down the path. The rest of the evening was spent just talking about the stuff we usually talked about, like his work, until it started getting late and I had to convince him that I had to get back home before Zanramon sent someone out to look for me. Cloak reluctantly walked me home.

"Are you sure you actually have to live here?" he asked.

"Cloak, I can hardly live with you," I said.

"Why not?"

"We're together now and it just wouldn't feel right."

"I suppose you're right."

I just nodded.

"I'm sure I've got a friend somewhere who could let you stay with them," he said.

"Cloak! Chill! I told you I'll see what I can do," I said.

"I know, but I really don't like this set up."

"Neither do I after last night."

Cloak stopped.

"What?" I asked, as I stopped alongside him.

"What happened last night?" he asked coldly.

"Zanramon kissed me, is all."

"He what?"

"I guess now was the wrong time to say that."

"No, uh, it's okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with the real Cloak?" I gave Cloak a surprised look.

Cloak just smiled and chortled.

"Hey, it's okay, but if he tries that again…," he said with a warning tone in his voice.

"I won't let him," I smiled.

"Good." Cloak started to walk again and we were soon in front of my door.

"Good night, Cal," Cloak smiled, as we turned to face each other.

"Good night, Cloak," I smiled, as I opened my door.

Cloak cleared his throat.

"Yes?" I asked dumbly; I knew that he was after a good night kiss.

"Yo-ou do know what we do when we say good night, right?" he asked.

"Yes, but still."

"We are together now." Cloak was trying to cut off every argument I could possibly make.

"I know."

"So?"

"Not tonight." I zipped into my room and closed the door, leaving poor Cloak looking quite stunned.

"Oh come on!" he groaned.

I just laughed at his annoyance.

"Come on! Stop teasing!" he said through the door.

"Good night, Cloak," I said through the door.

"Fine. Oh, hey… uh… tomorrow's the weekend."

"And?"

"What are you doing, 'cause I know that you don't work on the weekends."

"I'm not sure. I'll have to see how tomorrow goes."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

I listened for his footsteps, but I didn't hear anything.

"Are you still waiting?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Good night." I walked away from the door and started to get ready to go to bed. I don't know what Cloak did after that, but I do know that he eventually went home after he realised that I wasn't coming back out.


	20. Chapter 20

.Chapter twenty.

The next day, since I didn't have anything else to do and Zanramon hadn't already asked me to do anything, I decided to visit Cloak at his work for a change. On the way there I met up with the other secretaries on their way to various places.

"Hi girls," I smiled, as I walked up to them.

"Hi," they said, a majority of them had grins plastered on their faces.

"You heard the news then?"

"Yes, congrats!"

"Thanks girls."

"I'm guessing he gave you that thing around you neck," said Tina, a light brown Triceraton female, as she looked at the necklace Cloak had given me.

"Oh this? Yes."

"Is it his horn or…"

"It's his. He broke it defending me back on Shiniza 8."

"Oh, that's so romantic," Lara sighed.

"Big deal! So the guy broke a horn for her," said Tina; she wasn't always the easiest to get along with.

"It shows that he really likes her," interjected Sara.

"Yes, he must really really like her if he broke a horn for her," added Cara.

"Alright, girls, that's enough. You better not keep your appointments waiting," I said, before a fight could break out.

"Suppose you're right," sighed Lara.

"Where're you going?" asked Tina.

"To see Cloak. Seeing as I have the day off today, I thought I might as well go see him," I smiled, as I started to walk again.

"But why didn't you do that normally, back when you weren't together?" I stopped and looked back at the group of female Triceratons.

"Zanramon would usually have something for me to do in the morning and so I was busy," I explained.

Tina just nodded.

"I'll see you guys 'round," I said, as I started to head for the pilot's sector.

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I soon arrived at the pilot's sector; I walked in and received a few glances from the other pilots present there, but nothing out of the ordinary. While looking for Cloak I was suddenly joined by another Triceraton. He was quite tall, about Cloak's height (give or take an inch), orange in complexion, and he had a blue 'D' tattooed over his left eye.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Hi," I smiled back and then continued on my search for Cloak.

"You looking for someone?"

"Yes, uh… you wouldn't happen to know of a pilot named Cloak would you?"

"Cloak? Yes, he's out on a training mission at the moment."

"Oh, right."

"But he'll be back in a trigon or so, so if you want to wait for him…"

"Thanks, I might just do that."

"Here have a seat." The Triceraton pulled out a stool for me.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Dc." He held out his hand for me to shake.

"Pleased to meet you, Dc, I'm Cal."

"The pleasure's all mine."

I thought for a moment; the name Dc sounded familiar.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"No, just… have we met before?" I asked.

"No. This is the first time I've laid eyes on you."

"Right."  
"Why?"

"Your name sounds familiar."

"Maybe you've met my brother."

"Who's your brother?"

"Ac."

"Oh yes! I remember him. He's friends with Zap and Turbo."

"Yeah, that's my brother."

I just smiled and looked around for Cloak.

"So, uh, I hear you're Zanramon's secretary; is that true?" Dc asked, as he leaned on a table just to the side of me.

"Yes," I replied, as I continued to look for Cloak.

"Must be interesting working for the Prime Leader."

"On occasion, yes." There was a slight lull in the conversation.

"So, what's your connection to Cloak?"

Before I could answer I was yanked off of the stool and my lips were pressed against someone else's. I pulled away as soon as I could and, seeing who my assailant was, gave him a semi-annoyed look.

"Cloak!" I reprimanded as best I could; I was kinda glad that he had done that.

"Good morning," he smiled, as he released me. Suddenly I was pulled away from Cloak and behind Dc.

"What do you think you're doing?!" growled Dc.

Cloak was taken aback by this sudden outrage, as was I.

"What are you talking about, Dc?" asked Cloak, regaining his senses.

"Since when do you do **that** to just **any** girl? I'm terribly sorry about this, Cal; it seems I'll have to teach Cloak how to respect a lady," said Dc, as he turned to face me.

"You haven't told him have you?" I asked, as I looked at Cloak.

"No one in this sector knows… yet anyway," Cloak smiled.

"Know? Know what?" asked Dc, looking a bit perplexed.

"Dc, this is my girlfriend, Cal," said Cloak, as he gently pulled Dc away from me and took his place next to me.

"Girlfriend?!" Dc looked at us in disbelief.

"That's right," I smiled, as I moved closer to Cloak.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Calm down, Dc; we've only been together since yesterday," explained Cloak.

"So, that's why you were out so late."

Cloak nodded.

"Yes, I was waiting for her to give me a good night kiss," Cloak smiled.

"How long did you stay outside my room, Cloak?" I asked.

"Four helates."  
"You're persistent."

"I would have stayed longer, but I've got a curfew; being a pilot and all."

I just smiled at him.

"I don't think 'persistent' is that right word," said Dc.

"Who's your friend, Cloak?" asked a soot black Triceraton, as he walked up to us.

"Hi Bruno; this is Cal. Cal, this is Bruno; he's one of our technicians," said Cloak, as he put an arm around me.

"Pleased to meet you, Bruno," I smiled, as I shook Bruno's hand; man, it was odd calling someone else Bruno when I had called the All-stars' dog Bruno and also something about him rang a bell, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

"Right back at yah," smiled Bruno.

"This is Cloak's girlfriend, Bruno, so don't get too close," said Dc.

"Girlfriend? Since when were you interested in females?"

"I just didn't like what I saw; that is until I laid eyes on this little one," replied Cloak, as he held me closer.

I just smiled at him and he smiled gently back.

"Wait until Zix hears about this," smiled Bruno.

"Zix?" I asked.

"Yes, Bruno's teacher," replied Cloak.

"Right."

"Well, I better get back to work. Nice meeting you, Cal," smiled Bruno, as he turned and started to walk away.

"You too," I smiled.

"Hey, Cal," said Cloak, as soon as Bruno was out of sight.

"Yes," I replied, as I turned my head to look at him.

"Is Zanramon going to give you the holidays off?"

"Holidays?"

"Yes, we're coming up to our long holiday season; are you going to be off work for that time?"

"Don't know."

"Well, find out please."

"Why the sudden interest in my duty times, Cloak?"

"I go away to my parents place for the holidays and I was hoping that we could go together this year." Cloak turned to face me and took my hands in his.

"You sure?"

"Yes. My parents are going to need to meet you sooner or later; so, it may be better to get it over with quickly."

"Okay. I'll have a word with Zanramon when I next see him."

"Thanks." Cloak put my hands onto his shoulders, pulled me closer, and pressed his lips to mine before I could move away. We were completely oblivious to the looks we were getting from the other pilots, until we heard a few whoops from one or two of them. We ended the kiss quickly after that, both blushing a bit.

"I'll see you later, Cloak," I smiled, as I started to walk towards the exit.

"Right, sweetheart," he smiled, as he watched me walk off.

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I decided to walk by the throne room to see if Zanramon was there and he was. I found him rummaging through some papers that were on my desk.

"Can I be of assistance, Zanramon?" I asked.

"Cal! Where have you been young lady? I've been looking every where for you," he said gruffly.

"Sorry, Zanramon; I was visiting a friend."

"Right. Well, now that you're here I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yes."

"There's a long holiday coming up that lasts for about two orbital cycles and I wanted to let you know that you'll be having that off."

"Oh right, thanks."

"You'll be given leave within a week or so."  
"Right. Do you get time off?"

"A bit. My council members will be taking some of the appointments now."

"How will you know when an appointment is made?"

"The students from the academy will be looking for holiday jobs; I've already found a replacement for you."

"Oh, right."

"But no one's going to be able to replace you properly, my dear."

I just smiled at the compliment.

"You seem to be the only one that I can talk to about anything," continued Zanramon, as he fumbled with the papers on the desk with one hand.

"I'm not too sure about that; I think Mozar is a better choice for a confidant," I said.

Zanramon just shrugged as he looked at the papers, but I noticed that he was still watching me out the corner of his eye.

"What are you looking for in those papers?" I asked, trying to get the conversation back onto business.

"I was just looking for some forms," Zanramon replied plainly.

"What kind of forms?"  
"Application forms."

I walked behind the desk and opened a drawer; inside there were numerous forms. I pulled out a folder marked 'applications' and started to flip through its contents until I found some blank forms.

"There you go," I smiled, as I handed the forms to Zanramon.

"Oh, thanks," said Zanramon, as he looked at the forms with a hint of annoyance on his face.

"Something wrong?"

"No, no these are what I was looking for."

"You don't look too impressed though."

"Look, come with me for a moment; I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Zanramon looked around to see if we were alone or not. Nothing else was in the vicinity, so he returned his attention to me.

"My feelings for you have grown exponentially since the other night, my dear. Not a trigon goes past that I don't long for your company," he started.

"Okay," I replied; this was awkward to put it mildly.

"Please, consider being mine, my dear, that's all I ask."

"I'm afraid I'm already taken, Zanramon."

"What?! By who?!" Zanramon gripped my arms tightly, causing me to squeak slightly in pain.

"Just someone," I replied through gritted teeth; he may not look it, but Zanramon's strong. He released me when he saw that I wasn't going to respond.

"I'll find out who sooner or later, my dear, and when I find him… he'll wish he never laid eyes on you," said Zanramon, as he stormed off back into his throne room. I rubbed my arms to try to stop the stinging I could feel.

"You okay?" came a voice from in front of me.

I looked up and saw some of the other secretaries.

"Yeah," I replied still rubbing my arms.

"Zanramon can be such a brute at times," said Lara, her brow was furrowed in annoyance at Zanramon's actions.

"Tell me about it. What do you think he's got planned for you know who?"

"Nothing good."

I looked away from them; I didn't want Cloak to get in trouble and I didn't want him to get hurt either.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Zanramon already put him in jail once and he survived; ol' Zanny was just as ticked then as he is now," Lara giggled.

I just smiled.

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Seeing as Zanramon hadn't asked me to do anything else I went back to my room; Cloak had work to do and I didn't want to interrupt him. I had just begun reading a book that Zanramon had left for me in my room when there was a knock at my door. I put a book mark into the book and then went to see who it was.

"Who is it?" I asked, as I placed my hand on the handle.

"Your beau," came Cloak's voice from the other side of the door. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Cloak stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"And now?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his forward action.

"Zanramon's none too happy about us getting together and the last thing I want is to have an argument with him in front of you," replied Cloak.

"Right."  
"Nice place you got here."

"Thanks. So, is there a reason for this visit?"

"Do I need a reason to come see my darling?" Cloak pulled me closer to him in a gentle embrace.

"I suppose not, but you do usually have a reason for your visits."

"Fine. I wanted to know if you found out about your leave."

"Yes I did."

"And?"

"And I'll be on leave for two cycles in a week."  
"Excellent! The same time I go on leave too."

"Right."

"I'll come pick you up the day after we go on leave, okay?"

"Sure."

"So be ready. I want to be out of here before Zanramon wakes up on that day."

"I'll be ready."

"Good. I better get back to my sector before my commanding officer calls me back."

"Okay; have fun."

"It's work."

"I know, but try to have some fun anyway."

Cloak smiled at me, quickly kissed me, and then released me. As he pulled away, his arm accidentally knocked mine and I winced a bit in pain; it had hit me right on the spot that Zanramon had grabbed me.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Cloak," I replied.

Cloak seemed to know me better than what I had hoped, because he took hold of my wrist and pulled the sleeve of my long sleeved top up. Eventually he got it high enough to be over the spot where Zanramon had grabbed me. He just stared in shock; I had a few dark bruises where Zanramon's claws had sunken in, but nothing too serious.

"What happened?" Cloak asked, as he gently ran his finger over the bruises. I winced a bit in pain from them.

"Well?" he asked getting impatient for an answer.

"Zanramon," I replied.

"Honey, when did this happen?"

"A few trigons ago."

"What did he do to you?"

"He just grabbed me, Cloak, because I told him that I was already taken."

"He confessed his feelings to you."

"Yeah; so, I told him that I couldn't be his because I was already with someone."

"What did he do when he found out it was me?"

"I didn't tell him who; I didn't want to get you into more trouble."  
Cloak just smiled at me softly as he gently caressed me.

"You're something special; not many people would keep secrets from the Prime Leader."

"I'm an earther; we're used to doing things like that." Cloak just chuckled and then released me.

"I would like to see his face when he finds out who you're dating."

"I won't. He said that he would make whoever I'm with sorry for ever laying eyes on me."

"I couldn't ever regret that, Cal; you know how much we've been through and that's just strengthened our bond."

"I notice you didn't say 'never'." I smiled.

"You know how to spoil a moment don't you?" Cloak just looked at me exasperatedly.

"It's a gift." I tried to do my best Mikey impersonation for that.

"Yeah. Well, I was taking a note from your book about never saying never."

"Very controversial saying that."

"Tell me about it, but it's an earth saying so I didn't expect it to make too much sense."

"Oi!"

Cloak just chuckled at my expression and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"I'll see you in a week," he smiled, as he started to walk out of my room.

"Sure," I smiled.

He smiled at me before exiting my room and closing the door behind him.

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A week later, I was ready to leave; I had packed what I had in my duffel bag, and was now waiting for Cloak to come fetch me. Just as I was about to go check the hallway for signs of life for the hundredth time, I heard a knock at my door. I smiled, picked up my bag, and walked to the door; opening it when I got there.

"Morning," smiled Cloak, he had a bag slung over his shoulder and a suitcase next to him.

"Morning," I smiled back.

"That it?" he looked at my duffle bag that I had slung over my shoulder.

"Yeah, why?"

He gestured to his two bags.

"What? Aren't women allowed to have less luggage than men?"

"It's not usually the case."

I just smiled at him as we started to walk off towards the space port.

"So, which shuttle are we on?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"The first one. It should only take a helate or so to reach my parents' place. They live just in the next galaxy," Cloak replied.

"Next galaxy?"

"Yeah, dad got tired of the constant fighting here on the home world that he thought it would be better to go elsewhere in the universe, so he took mom through to a little farming planet not too far from here."

"Nice."

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind farm life."  
"Not at all. It'll be fun."

"I'm hoping it will be."

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We soon arrived at the space port, just in time to board our shuttle. Once on board, Cloak stuck our luggage in an overhead compartment, kinda like in an aeroplane, and then sat down next to me. We were soon on our way through to this farming planet when a thought struck me; Triceratons can only breathe nitrogen and sulphur, so was this planet also an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulphur or was Cloak going to have to wear an atmosphere converter too.

"Uh, Cloak," I said.

"Yes," he replied groggily; he had gone to sleep basically the minute he had sat down.

"This planet, is it also an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulphur or…"

"It's also nitrogen and sulphur; there are a few other places where the atmosphere is like the home world, but they aren't as popular with the Triceratons as most people would think."

"Right."

"Why did you ask that anyway?"

"Just wanting to make sure that you would be okay. Last thing I need is for you to have forgotten an atmosphere converter or some other vital piece of equipment."

Cloak smiled at me and took my hand in his.

"You're too sweet for your own good; you know that?" he asked, as he gently pressed his lips to my cheek.

"Now I do," I smiled. Cloak sat back in his chair, but kept my hand in his. I also sat back and partially dozed off myself; I was still conscious, but my eyes were closed.


	21. Chapter 21

.Chapter twenty-one.

We soon arrived on a planet that was just covered in farms with one metropolis in its northern pole. I had to wake Cloak up; I don't know how he and some of the other Triceratons I've met can sleep through an entire flight.

"Cloak, Cloak," I said, as I shook him gently. All I got was a groan and gentle swat for my troubles.

"Come on, Cloak, get up," I said, as I got up. He didn't even stir. I decided to try something a little unconventional for me. I put a finger onto the top of his nose horn and then ran it down along the length of his muzzle. His eyes fluttered open as soon as I reached the spot in-between his eyes.

"And now?" he asked groggily.

"We're here," I said, as I removed my finger from his head.

He groaned as he stretched and stood up a bit wobbly at first, but regained his composure quickly. After grabbing our bags, Cloak led the way out of the shuttle and into the space port.

"There should be a transport shuttle waiting for us," he said, as he looked around the docking bay for the shuttle. Just then a light brown Triceraton walked up to us from behind and put a hand on Cloak's shoulder.

"Cloaky," he said, as Cloak spun 'round, surprised by the contact.

"Zanner," Cloak smiled, as he shook the Triceraton's hand.

"Who's this?"

"Uh, Zanner, this is my girlfriend Cal. Cal, this is my cousin Zanner."

"Pleased to meet you," I smiled.

"Back at yah," smiled Zanner.

Cloak smiled and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

"Since when were you interested in females?" asked Zanner.

"Since I laid eyes on her," replied Cloak.

"What are auntie and uncle going to say?"

"I couldn't care less. I love her and if they don't like her that's their problem."

"You're brave."

I looked up at Cloak, a bit unsure about meeting his parents now.

"Hey, don't worry; my parents will be fine," he said reassuringly.

I just gave him a look, but then took his word for it.

"So, you ready to go, Zanner?" Cloak asked.

"You bet. Let's go," replied Zanner, as he started to walk away towards a few lines of transport shuttles.

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We were soon on our way to Cloak's parents' farm. As we progressed I started to get a bit nervous about meeting his parents again and started fiddling with the straps on my bag. Cloak must have noticed my fidgeting and put a hand onto mine.

"Relax," he said, as he patted my hands.

"Sorry," I apologised.

"I know you're nervous because of what I said earlier, but I'm sure my parents won't take this too badly."

"That's **not** encouraging, Cloak."

"I'm sorry." Cloak squeezed my hand slightly and rested his head against mine gently.

"If you two are done being all gushy," said Zanner.

"Well, stop eaves dropping and then you won't have to hear us being soppy," said Cloak.

"I'm just saying that it ain't like you to be all sweet on someone."

"Get used to it; everyone else had to." Cloak let go of my hand, leaned back, and put his arm around my shoulders.

Zanner just gave Cloak a look via the rear-view mirror and then continued to drive.

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We soon arrived on the farm; it was quite similar to one that you find on earth, just the animals were different.

"Come on; let's introduce you to my parents," smiled Cloak, as he retrieved our bags from the luggage compartment of the shuttle.

"You do that, Cloak, I'll be back within a trigon or so; just got to park the shuttle," smiled Zanner, as he leaned out of the window.

"Right." Cloak closed the luggage compartment and Zanner took off to park the shuttle. Cloak slung both of our bags over his shoulder and carried his suit case in the same hand.

"Come on," he said, as he put his free arm around my shoulders and started to lead me up to the house.

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Once on the porch, Cloak set down his suitcase and knocked on the door. I could hear footsteps approaching and I felt my stomach go into a knot. Cloak pulled me closer to him to help comfort me, as the door was opened and an old Triceraton female smiled at us.

"Cloaky!" she exclaimed, as Cloak released me and gave the lady a hug; I was guessing that this was his mom.

"Mom! Great to see you again," Cloak smiled, as his mom released him.

"Look at you; you look like you've been keeping well."

"I have."

"And this must be Cal, your girlfriend if I'm not mistaken."

Cloak and I just looked at her. How did she know about Cloak and I?

"How did you know about…," started Cloak.

"Well, everyone on the home world knows now and Auntie Iridisa thought that your father and I should know too," replied Cloak's mom.

"Good old Auntie Iridisa." Cloak didn't look too pleased.

"Well, come on in, dearies." Cloak's mom moved aside so that Cloak and I could walk in. Cloak gestured for me to walk in first and I cautiously did. Cloak's mom just smiled at me kindly as I walked past her.

"How long ago did Auntie Iridisa tell you about us?" asked Cloak.

"About a week or so," replied Cloak's mom.

"Right. I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

"Not at all. We're quite glad that you brought her through to meet us."

Just then there was a loud bang behind me; I squeaked in surprise, spun 'round and backed up to Cloak quickly. Then I saw an old male Triceraton who was going into near hysterics at my reaction.

"Cal, my dad," said Cloak, as he set the bags down and held me close.

"Nice to meet you, Cal," smiled Cloak's dad, as he extended a hand for me to shake.

I shook his hand quickly and then pressed my back up against Cloak again.

"How you doing, my boy?" asked Cloak's dad.

"Fine, dad," smiled Cloak.

"Well, what you waiting for? Give us a hug."

Cloak rolled his eyes and released me; I backed away from him and made sure that there was no way anyone could sneak up behind me, while Cloak gave his dad a hug.

"That's better," smiled Cloak's dad, as he released Cloak.

"Come on, Cal; I'll show you through to where you'll be sleeping," said Cloak's mom, as she put a hand onto my shoulder.

"Thanks ma'am," I smiled, as she started to lead me further into the house.

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She led me to a little room just down the hall. It had a double bunk in it and it even had a window; I hadn't seen a room with a window for such a long time that it kinda looked out of place now.

"I hope you don't mind, Cal, but Zanner will be sharing this room with you," said Cloak's mom, as I walked in to check out my new surroundings.

"That's okay, ma'am," I smiled.

"Oh, please call me Mrs. T."

"Mrs. T?"

"Yes, our last name is Titanium."  
"That's Cloak's last name? Titanium?"

"Yes, hasn't he ever told you?"

"No, I've only known his first name."

"Well, what's your last name, dear?"

"Swift."

"Swift. That's a nice name."  
"Thanks."  
"Cal Swift and Cloak Enigma Titanium, interesting."  
"Enigma?"  
"His middle name."  
"Right."

"Do you have one, dear?"

"No, I don't."  
"Right. Well, I'll leave you to settle in."

"Thanks Mrs. T."

"Oh, and you can call Cloak's dad, Mr. T."

"Yes Mrs. T, thanks."  
"Anytime, deary." With that Mrs. T walked away to see to her son.

I had to try so hard not to laugh at the names I was supposed to call Cloak's parents because it reminded me of Mr. T from the A-Team.

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Soon Cloak came into the room with my bag in his hand.

"You'll need this," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

"Wonder where Zanner's staying." Cloak handed me my bag and then sat down next to me on the lower bunk.

"Here."

Cloak just looked at me with wide eyes.

"Here? In this room?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"You're my girlfriend and there's going to be another male sleeping in here."

"Relax; Zanner has no feelings for me and I have no feelings for him, so I think we'll be perfectly okay in here."

"Cal."

"It'll be okay, Cloak dear," said Mrs. T, as she walked into the room.

Cloak and I looked at her.

"Zanner swore that he wouldn't touch her," she continued.

Cloak just gave his mom a look.

"Anyway, you're right down the hall, dear; if Zanner gets a bit much for Cal I'm sure she'll let you know," Mrs. T smiled at her son as a way of calming him down.

"You okay with this?" he asked, as he took my hand in his and squeezed it.

"Yeah. Just think of him as Sleeg," I smiled.

"Surprisingly that won't be too hard to do." Cloak's expression changed from serious to amused.

I just giggled at the way he had said that; Zanner really was a sweet guy, but obviously he had a way of annoying his cousin.

"Right, now that everyone is settled why don't you show Cal around the farm, Cloak?" asked Mrs. T.

"Okay. You up for a tour?" asked Cloak.

"Whenever you are," I smiled.

Cloak returned my smile, got up with my hand still in his and started to lead me out of the room.

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We started the tour at an old barn-like structure that stood near to the house.

"I had just graduated from my pilot's course when my parents moved here," said Cloak, as we walked into the structure.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. I used to spend most of my time hiding in here when I came to visit them."

"Cloak."  
"What? You'll find out why soon enough."

"Why do you say that?"

"Zanner was my reason."

"He can't be that bad."

"Wanna bet?"

I just smiled at him.

"Shall we continue elsewhere?" he asked, as he offered me his arm.

"Sure," I replied, as I interlocked my arm with his.

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We spent the next helate or so looking around the farm; I was introduced to a majority of the animals that lived on the farm and also met a few of the neighbours. They gave Cloak and I the same look that most beings did when they found out that we were an item. We were on our way back to the house when we were ambushed by one of the villagers; there were small villages situated around the farms. She was also a Triceraton and she kinda took us both by surprise by glomping poor Cloak to the floor from behind.

"Hey, Cloak," she said, as she ran her finger over his frill. I was a bit indignant as to how she was lying on him and the manner in which she was running her finger over his frill.

"Hello, Melody," replied Cloak in a monotonous voice; I guess this used to happen a lot.

"Where you been? We've been missing you."

"I've been doing my job on the home world."

"We heard that you were put in prison; is that true?"

I cleared my throat, hoping that Cloak would get the gist that I didn't like the situation he was in.

"Could you get off of me first and then I'll tell you?" he asked; acknowledging my cough.

"Sure," replied Melody, as she slid off of him and helped him up. Cloak dusted himself off and prevented Melody from helping him.

"So?" she asked.

"Yes, I was in prison for just over six cycles."  
"You poor thing. How did you ever survive?"

"I had a bit of help."

"From?"

"That little lady over there," replied Cloak, as he looked at me with a kind smile.

"Her?" asked Melody.

"Yes, her; and her name's Cal."

"How did she help you?"

"She gave me something no-one else did."

"What?"

"Friendship and currently love."

"L-love?"

"Yes, we're going out. Why?"

"Since when were you dating?!"  
"Since I fell in love with her."

Melody glared at Cloak and then at me.

"I better get back home. Mom will start to wonder," said Melody, as she turned stiffly and walked away.

"Right," replied Cloak, as he watched her walk off.

Once she was out of earshot I walked up to Cloak.

"Old flame?" I asked.

"Old flame?" he asked, as he raised an eye ridge.

"Old girlfriend?"

"No, you're my first."

"Oh, right."

"Sorry about that; I could see you didn't like the way she was treating me."

"We-ell, can't help that now, can I?"

"No, but I can make it up to you if you want me to." Cloak put his hands onto my shoulders and gave me a cheeky smile.

"It's fine. Come on, let's see if Zanner's returned yet."

"Why do you want to see if he's in yet?"

"Just because."

"You just don't want me to kiss you in public."  
I just smiled at him as we started to walk back towards the house.

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We soon made it back and it was apparent that Zanner was back in; we could hear him 'singing' somewhere in the house.

"Does he have to sing like that?" Cloak asked his mom who was holding her hands over her ears.

"Apparently so," she replied.

"Where is he?"

"Bathroom."

"That explains it. I'll be back in a moment, Cal," said Cloak, as he put a hand on my shoulder and then walked off towards the bathroom.

"So, how has my son been treating you?" asked Mrs. T.

"Wonderfully," I replied with a smile.

"Good. We're quite glad that Cloak has finally found someone that makes him happy."

"Even though I'm a human?"

"Yes; we kinda freaked out at that news, but it has grown on us since then."

"Right."

"And we're glad that it did. Had we been opposed to the idea when you arrived here with Cloak, it wouldn't have been a very nice stay for you two."

I just smiled at her. Just then we heard a loud banging.

"Zanner! Shut it!" bellowed Cloak.

"What? Don't you like my singing, Cloaky?" asked Zanner from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Not entirely no."

"That's just harsh, Cloak; I don't moan at you when you sing in the shower."

"That's because I don't."

"Well, uh…"

Zanner had finally run out of arguments.

"Just wrap it up and get out here," said Cloak, as he started to walk back towards the living room where his mom and I were waiting for him.

"Okay, okay… spoil sport," retorted Zanner.

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Cloak soon re-entered the room and sat down on a sofa that was in the corner. He smiled at me and patted the spot next to him. I smiled at him, walked over to the sofa, and sat down next to him; he then put his arm around my shoulders and rested his head against mine.

"You two do make a lovely couple, you know that?" asked Mrs. T.

"Now we do," replied Cloak, as he gently kissed my cheek.

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The rest of the day was quite uneventful, except for the sunset, which I haven't seen for ages being on the Triceraton home world where they are non existent, and when Zanner found out who his bunk buddy was going to be.

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I was busy waiting for Cloak to come back in, he had taken Zanner outside to set some ground rules for his being my bunk buddy. When they did come back in, Zanner was still his happy go lucky self.

"Chill, Cloaky, I know that rules," he said, as he walked back into the house with Cloak behind him.

"You just keep them in mind. I'm just down the hall, so, if I feel like it, I can come check on you and Cal can call me if need be," said Cloak. He wasn't in a good mood.

"We'll be fine, Cloak," I said, as I walked up to him and put a hand onto his shoulder.

"Okay, but if he tries anything call me."

"You got it."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Cloak quickly pressed his lips to mine and I returned the favour.

"Come on, Cal, we've got to get to bed early so that we can be up with the sun," said Zanner with a smile.

Cloak just glared at him as we pulled apart.

"Okay; see you in the morning, Cloak," I smiled, as I turned to leave.

"Right," replied Cloak, as he turned to walk to his room.

I nodded and then walked off to the room I was going to be sharing with Zanner while Cloak walked off to his room.


	22. Chapter 22

.Chapter twenty-two.

It had been a peaceful night if you ignore that fact that Zanner snores like a chainsaw. I had heard someone checking on us every few hours or so during the night; I had guessed that it was Cloak, but it might have been his parents at some of the times. The sun was just starting to rise; I could see it through the curtains that covered the window. Zanner was still snoring like a chainsaw and I thought that this might be as good a time as any to get changed into my normal day clothes. I got up quietly and fetched my clothes from my bag. I then got back under that covers of my bed and started to change under there; not the most dignified way of doing things, but it would prevent Zanner from seeing me if he woke up while I was in the middle of getting changed.

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Once I had finished getting dressed, I tiptoed out of the room as not to wake Zanner, and sat in the living room, while I waited for someone else to get up. I didn't have to wait long; while I was waiting I saw Cloak walk past the living room towards the room that Zanner and I were sharing. I got up and followed him. I didn't want to wake the whole house up so I didn't call out to him. He walked up to the door, opened it and looked into the room.

"Lose something?" I asked, as I came up next to him.

He looked at me a bit startled.

"How long have you been up?" he asked.

"Almost half a helate," I smiled at him.

"Right. Where were you?"

"In the living room."

"Okay. Just go back there and I'll be with you in a moment."

I just nodded and walked back to the living room with Cloak behind me for most of the way. Once seeing that I was seated, Cloak left to go back to his room. While I was waiting for him, I looked around the room. There were a few pictures and knick-knacks here and there, but nothing unusual. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Cloak re-enter the room until he picked me up bridal style. I squeaked slightly in surprise.

"I've missed that little squeak," he smiled cheekily, as he held me closer and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I haven't," I said, as I gave him a 'put me down' look; I don't overly like being picked up. He just returned my 'put me down look' with a 'not just yet' look, as he sat down on the sofa and put me down onto his lap. I tensed up a bit, this was the first time he had done this and it was the first time I had been put onto anyone's lap since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

"Relax, it's just me," he cooed into my ear.

I just gave him a look.

"This is the first time we've been as close as this, I know, but still," he said, as he guided my head under his. I decided to relax and snuggled up to him.

"That's it," he said, as he stroked my back gently.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked, as I moved away from him so that I could see his face.

"I just want to hold you; this is the first time I've held you like this."

I just raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's a guy thing," he said.

"That's just what guys say when they actually mean, 'it doesn't have any logic behind it, I just do it'," I said with a smile.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Some book or other on earth."

"Right."

"But I'm kinda enjoying this, so don't worry about it." I snuggled back up to him and allowed his arms to wrap around me. This was the first time I could hear his heart beat; it was unusually soothing.

"Cal," he said suddenly.

"Yeah," I replied somewhat sleepily.

"Could I ask you something?"

"You just did."

He bounced his leg once as a way of saying 'very funny'.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, almost giggling.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Okay. You?"

"Not a wink."

"Oh." I moved away from him slightly so that I could look at him properly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I was worried about you."

"Cloak."

"I know I didn't have to, but… you… alone with Zanner… I just… couldn't sleep knowing that."

I snuggled closer to him again.

"You're too sweet, Cloak," I said, as I hugged him tightly. Just then I felt him pull away a bit and his lips met my cheek. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Think we can upgrade the kiss?" he asked with a hopeful tone to his voice.

"Sure," I smiled. I had barely finished saying 'sure' and his lips had met mine. This was our longest kiss on record, ten whole seconds, but it came to an end when Zanner decided to walk in and begin teasing his cousin.

"Well, ain't you two cute?" he asked.

As soon as we heard his voice we broke the kiss and gave him an annoyed glare.

"Good form you two; though, Cloak, you might want to lean in more and don't be afraid to apply a bit of pressure," smiled Zanner.

Cloak just growled at him.

"Though don't let me tell you two how to swap gob," Zanner smiled.

Cloak and I just closed our eyes at the description.

"I wish you wouldn't refer to kissing like that, Zanner," said Cloak, as he gave his cousin a look.

"Well, how would you like me to refer to it? Lip locking? Makin' out? Uh… got any others?"

"Just don't talk to us about our romance, okay?"

"Okay, okay. You're so much fun to annoy, Cloaky." With that Zanner started to edge away so that he could go change into his day clothes (he hadn't changed out of his pj's yet).

"Just go get changed!" snapped Cloak. I was startled to say the least when he snapped at Zanner like that; Cloak has a loud voice when he needs it.

"Sorry," he apologised to me in a softer tone.

"Aww," said Zanner again.

Cloak glared at Zanner, picked me up, set me down on the sofa, stood up, marched over to Zanner, turned him around, picked him up by the seat of his pants and the collar of his shirt and carried him down the hall protesting all the way.

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Soon Cloak returned and he had a scowl on his face.

"Something wrong?" I asked, as he sat down next to me, picked me up and sat me down in his lap again. He then snuggled closer to me; putting his snout under my chin.

"And now?" I asked, as I looked at him.

"It makes things easier to do this," he smiled, as he quickly moved his head up and locked his lips to mine. I guess he had decided to take Zanner's advice and pushed slightly harder than he had previously. Just then there was a flash and Cloak and I quickly broke apart.

"Mom! Dad!" groaned Cloak, when he saw his parents with Zanner standing in the doorway. I just looked away from them slightly as I started to blush.

"Sorry, sweetie, but you know us," Mrs. T smiled.

"You two usually sleep for another helate; why are you up at this time?" asked Cloak.

"Zanner told us that there was a good photo opportunity going on at the moment." Cloak glared at Zanner.

"Uh, should I be running?" asked Zanner.

Cloak calmly picked me up off of his lap, set me down again, got up and glared at Zanner.

"Running?" asked Zanner.

"You should have been doing that when you told my parents," replied Cloak; with that Zanner took off with Cloak in hot pursuit.

"Should I go after them?" I asked.

"No, let them get it out of their systems," smiled Mrs. T.

"They like this every year?"

"Yeah, but they'll simmer down after a while," smiled Mr. T, as he sat down in an easy chair and Mrs. T sat down next to me.

"So, how long have you and Cloak been on kissing terms?" she asked.

"Since before we became an item."

"You mean since you met?"  
"Oh! No, no, no; Cloak and I have only been on 'kissing terms' since a few cycles ago."

"Right." Just then we heard a yowl from outside.

"I think Cloak caught up with Zanner," I said.

"Strange, he's never been able to keep up with his cousin before," said Mr. T, as he walked over to the window to see what was going on.

"You have seen his muscles right?"

"I'm sure you've noticed."

I just smiled and blushed slightly.

"What did attract you to our Cloaky in the first place, Cal?" asked Mrs. T.

"He's a really sweet guy, so I guess I just ended up falling for him that way," I smiled.

"Where in the prison did you two meet?"

"Mess hall. He had just come out of solitary confinement and looked a bit gloomy so I tried to get him to smile."

"It obviously worked."

"It took a few cycles and my getting beat up by another inmate to get him to smile, actually."

"Oh! Well, we're sorry; we never knew he had a personality like that."

"Oh! No, Mrs. T, it's not because I got beat up that he was smiling, it's because he saw that I was brave taking on Rynokk; Rynokk had stolen my atmosphere converter and so I kinda had to fight him for it."

"Oh, right."

"I'm just glad that we ended up talking after that; Cloak is one of the first friends I made on the home world."

Mrs. T just nodded, as we heard another yowl from outside.

"I'm just gonna go check on them," says Mr. T, as he starts to walk out of the door.

"Okay, honey," smiles Mrs. T, as she gets up and heads into the house.

"Can I be of assistance anywhere, Mrs. T?" I asked.

"Could you help me in the kitchen, deary?"

"Sure." I got up and started to follow her through to the kitchen.

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A few minutes later Mr. T returned with Zanner and Cloak in a bit of a state.

"What did you two get up to?" I asked, as I moved a dish onto the table that was in the middle of the kitchen.

"He caught me in less than a trigon," breathed Zanner, as he looked at Cloak with a surprised expression.

"I'm in better shape than I was last year," smiled Cloak, as he walked up to me and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, you two go wash up and we'll have breakfast ready when you come out," said Mrs. T.

"Yes, mom."

"Yes, auntie," said Zanner, as he and Cloak walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the bathroom.

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They soon rejoined us and we sat down to breakfast; Zanner was sure to put as much space as possible between himself and Cloak, but that's kinda difficult at a small table. Cloak had sat next to me and Zanner had decided to sit on the other side of me because he was hoping that Cloak wouldn't try anything with me in-between them. Mrs. T was a very good cook; I could see where Cloak got his ability to cook now. I was also starting to notice other attributes in Cloak that were also in his parents; like his kind nature came from his mom and his cheeky side came from his dad, but he also had many of his own personality traits that I hadn't seen in his parents yet.

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We soon finished breakfast and I volunteered to help with the dishes; let's just say no one objected to it. Cloak sweetly decided to help out, so we ended up doing the dishes together. I had just finished drying my hands and Cloak had just packed away the last dish when I felt his arms wrap around me.

"And now?" I asked, as I put the towel down.

He just smiled at me, as he slowly released me and started to lead the way into the living room.

"You two finished already?" asked Mrs. T, as Cloak and I walked up to her, Mr. T and Zanner.

"Yeah," replied Cloak, as he sat down on the sofa. I was about to sit down next to him when he pulled me into his lap.

"Cloak?" I asked a bit surprised by his actions.

"What?" he asked with a smile.

"Never mind." I just smiled at him as I leaned back against him.

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Later, Cloak and his dad had gone for a walk into the village that was nearby, while Zanner, Mrs. T and I took care of some chores around the house. It wasn't long before Cloak and his dad came back and Cloak looked quite tired.

"What happened to you?" I asked, as I walked up to him and he pulled me closer in a hug.

"We just found out that Cloak is the most eligible bachelor in the village," replied his dad, as he looked at Cloak.

"No kidding?" asked Zanner.

"No; I'm just glad that I'm taken," replied Cloak, as he pulled me closer.

I smiled at hearing this and hugged him back; just then Cloak released me and led me through to the living room.

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Once in the living room, Cloak sat down and pulled me into his lap.

"You okay?" I asked, as I stroked the side of his head.

"I'm fine now," he smiled, as he leaned his head into my hand as I stroked it.

"Most guys would be flattered."  
"By being the ideal guy for any female?"

"Yeah."  
"I don't want to be the ideal guy for any female; I want to be the ideal guy for you."

I smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked, as a pleased smile spread over his face.

"For being so sweet," I replied, as I stroked his head gently again.

"Aren't you two just darling," smiled Mrs. T, as she walked into the room and sat down in a chair adjacent to us.

"Thanks mom," Cloak smiled.  
Mrs. T just smiled at Cloak, picked up her book, and began reading it.

"Uh, mom," he said.

"Yes dear?" asked Mrs. T.

"Do you think Cal could move into my room?"

Mrs. T and I just looked at him.

"I would move into the spare room with Zanner, so don't look at me like that," he smiled, figuring out what his mom and I were thinking.

"Well, if you want to, dear, but it's also up to Cal if she wants to move," replied Mrs. T.

"Well, Cal?"

"Why do you want me to move into your room? I'm perfectly okay in the spare room with Zanner," I asked.

"It would make me feel better."

"Why?"  
"I don't like you sleeping in a room that also houses my flirty cousin."

"Hey! I ain't flirty!" protested Zanner, as he walked into the room and sat down in a chair nearby.

"You've dated how many females?"

Zanner thought about it and then realised that he wasn't going to win this argument.

"You don't mind do you, sweetheart?" asked Cloak, as he slightly tightened his grip on me.

"Of course not. When do you want me to move?" I asked.

"We'll swap rooms tonight."

"Right."

"What happened to your horn?" asked Zanner, changing the subject.

"Ah, you noticed," said Cloak, as he rubbed the bit of horn that was left in his skull after it had been broken off.

"Yeah; so, what's the story?"

"I broke it defending Cal here."  
"Why did you have to defend her?"

"Some guys wanted her for… something."  
"Right; you're lucky you only lost a horn."

"Yeah." Cloak looked away from Zanner.

"That's not all… was it?" asked Zanner.

"Not really," replied Cloak; I could see that he didn't really want to say what had happened.

"So, what else did yah lose?"

"I… almost lost my life."  
Zanner and Mrs. T's eyes widened.

"Cloak?" asked Mrs. T.

"I've already said too much," replied Cloak.

"Cloak." Mrs. T wasn't letting the subject go.  
Cloak just looked at her.

"It's alright, dear, what's done is done; it can't be changed. What happened?"  
"I was shot and didn't go for help immediately afterwards; I went to check on Cal and her friend Zap, they had escaped up to Burn's room. After checking on them, Cal discovered my injury after a few seconds and then sent her friend to find help; Zap soon returned with some paramedics who had seen me outside the hotel. They took me to the hospital, but on the way there I apparently died; obviously they were able to jump start my heart and get me going again."

"That's a very gallant gesture, Cloak," smiled Mrs. T.

"Thanks mom."

"What did you make of it, Cal?" asked Zanner.

"At first I thought he was incredibly stupid for not going to find help, but after that… I was quite flattered by it," I smiled, as I looked at Cloak. He just smiled at me and gently rubbed his head against mine.

Mrs. T and Zanner just smiled at us.

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Later that evening, Cloak and I swapped rooms.

"I'll see you in the morning, Cal," Cloak smiled at me, as he gently caressed my cheek in his hand and stroked it with his thumb.

"Yeah. Night," I smiled.

"Night." Cloak and I quickly kissed, but even that was interrupted by a certain other Triceraton.

"Come on, Cloaky; you gotta get your beauty sleep," he smiled, as he leant against the doorframe.

Cloak just looked at Zanner and Zanner beamed back.

"Go on," I smiled at him.

Cloak just smiled gently at me, released me, and walked out of the room with Zanner behind him. I closed the door behind them. It was kinda weird being in Cloak's room; it was even weirder to think that I was going to have to sleep in his bed. I don't know why it was weird it just was, but I shook the feeling off, climbed into bed and went to sleep. I hadn't been asleep long when I heard a familiar sound; I could hear Zanner snoring like I chainsaw. I just smiled and went back to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

.Chapter twenty-three.

The next few weeks were pretty much routine; Cloak and I had been with his parents and Zanner for a month now and I was only just informed at the beginning of the new cycle that it was close to Christmas.

"You guys celebrate Christmas?" I asked.

"Yep, doesn't everybody?" asked Mr. T, as he hung up a string of tinsel-like stuff above the window.

"I suppose so; I just didn't expect another species to celebrate it." Cloak and I had been roped into the decorating too; at the moment, Cloak was being used as a living foot stool by his mom so that she could reach the top of an old clock they had in the living room.

"Hold still, dear," she said, as Cloak shifted a bit under her.

"Sorry," he apologised; I could see that he wasn't enjoying being a living footstool.

"There, done." Mrs. T stepped down off of Cloak's back and he stood up a bit stiff.

He groaned a bit as he stretched his back. I walked over to him and rubbed his back to help make it feel better.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he smiled, as he looked at me.

"Think nothing of it," I smiled back.

"Hey, you two, look up," said Zanner.

Cloak and I looked at him; he was pointing at something above us. We looked up and saw a small piece of plant hanging above us. Cloak cringed and I… didn't get it.

"Yeah and?" I asked.

Zanner just looked at me.

"Cloak, explain the tradition to your girlfriend," he said.

"This isn't like our mistletoe tradition is it?" I asked before Cloak could open his mouth.

"Explain," said Cloak.

"If you're caught with someone under this plant that grows on earth you have to kiss them."  
"Yeah, identical."  
I rolled my eyes and gave Zanner a look.

"Well, come on you two; my arm's not gonna stay like this forever," said Zanner with a somewhat annoyed look on his face.

Cloak and I just looked at him.

"Aww, come on!" he groaned.

Cloak and I just chuckled.

"Oh, come on you two; just do it because of the tradition if you don't want to do it for Zanner," said Mrs. T.

Cloak and I just looked at each other.

"Well, I'm not doing it for Zanner and I'm definitely not doing it for the tradition," said Cloak.

Mr. T, Mrs. T and Zanner just looked at him.

"I'm only doing this 'cause it's a decent excuse to kiss her in public," he smiled, as he pulled me closer to him.

Mr. T, Mrs. T, and Zanner just shook their heads at Cloak while he quickly kissed me. Just then there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll go get that," said Mrs. T, as she turned to leave the room.

"Right, we'll just carry on decorating," smiled Mr. T.

"Right." With that she disappeared around the corner to the front door.

Cloak, Zanner and I were about to get onto our next tasks when our work was interrupted by an excited bark and my being flattened by something big and hairy.

"What the shell?!" I exclaimed.

"Bruno get offa 'er," reprimanded a familiar voice.

"Bruno?" Just then I was met by three panting heads, all belonging to the puppy that I had helped raise.

"Guys?!" I asked, as someone pulled Bruno off of me and I was able to sit up.

"Hey," greeted the Triceraton All-stars and Burn.

"Let me help you up," smiled Zap, as he held out a hand for me to take hold of.

I took his hand and he pulled me back onto my feet.

"Zap! Great to see you again," I smiled, as I gave him a hug.

"Ha! It's great to see you too, Cal," he smiled, as he hugged me back.

"So, you're sure you don't mind us pitching a tent in the front yard, Mrs. T?" asked Burn.

"Of course not, but one thing vexes me," replied Mrs. T.

"What?"

"Who invited you?"

"No one; the boys just thought that pitching a tent outside your house would be… a different experience."

"Burn, you're not a very good liar; spill, who was it?" I asked.

Burn just looked in Cloak's direction.

"You?" I asked.

"Yeah, I invited them 'round," smiled Cloak.

"Cloak, if you had told us that you had invited guests around we would have fixed up the barn for them," said Mrs. T.

"Nah, the guys had said previously that they wanted to have a real camping experience and so I suggested they come out here and camp in the front yard."

"Is that true boys?"

"Yes ma'am," chorused the All-stars.

"Well, have fun, but if you want to move indoors just go through to the barn; there's some beds in there that you can use."

"Thanks ma'am." With that the All-stars and Burn started to head back out to the front yard to pitch their tent.

While Mr. T, Mrs. T, and Zanner were distracted by the All-stars and Burn leaving, Cloak took me by my hand, signalled for me to keep quiet and led me out the back.

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Once out of the backdoor, Cloak started to lead me towards the barn.

"Something wrong, Cloak?" I asked.

"No, I just wanted to show you something," he smiled, as he walked up to the barn door and opened it. He ushered me in, walked in behind me, and closed the door behind him.

"Well, what do you want to show me?"

"Just this." Cloak pulled a lever and suddenly a few training aids came out of the walls and pillars.

"O-kay."

"I used to train in here over the holidays when I was hiding from Zanner."

"Right."

"Also, I wanted to know if you would allow me to train you."

"Train me?"

"Yes." Cloak turned to me to face him and put his hands onto my shoulders.

"I'm not always going to be around to protect you, so I want you to be able to take care of yourself," he said.

"You're too sweet, Cloak," I smiled, as I gently put a hand onto his cheek.

He just smiled at the compliment.

"Am I disrupting something?" asked Zap, as he poked his head into the barn.

"No. I was just showing Cal where we'll be training," smiled Cloak, as he released my shoulders and I released his cheek.

Zap just smiled cheekily and nodded.

"You guys done with your tent yet?" asked Cloak, trying to change the subject.

"That's just it; we need help," said Zap, as a blush started to show on his face.

"Don't you have the instructions?"

"Well, we did, but then a certain member of our team got hold of them and we haven't been able to get them back."

"Who? Burn? Monza?"

"Close; Bruno."

I couldn't help but giggle at the comparison.

"Well, you're obviously not getting them back now," smiled Cloak.

"Yep," replied Zap.

"Head back inside, Cal; I'll be in in a moment." Cloak pushed me forward slightly.

"Right. See you then," I smiled, as I walked past Zap and towards the house.

"You sure I wasn't disturbing you?" I heard Zap ask.

"Of course not; had you disturbed us, I would have pushed you out and closed the door," replied Cloak, as he went around the other side of the house to help the All-stars with their tent.

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Once back inside, I was met by Zanner.

"So, where did you and Cloaky get to?" he asked with a sly look on his face.

"Cloak was just showing me where we'll be training," I smiled.

"'We' as in you and me or 'we' as in you and Cloak?"  
"Cloak and I."

"Good."

I just smiled at him and started to make my way back towards the living room.

"So, what you going to get Cloaky for Christmas?" he asked.

"Uh, I hadn't given it much thought, actually," I replied simply, as I stopped and turn to look at him again.

"Well, if you want my opinion…"

"Yes?"

"How about you get him one of those 'love' necklaces?"

"What?"

"You know, those necklaces with the pendant that breaks in half to form two new pendants?"

"Oh, right. Would he like something like that?"

"Perhaps; I could ask him if you wanted me to."

"Would you?"

"You got it."

"Thanks Zanner." Then I did something I don't usually do; I hugged him.

"Don't let Cloaky catch us like this; I won't make it out alive," he smiled at me.

"Of course," I smiled back.

"You're not usually like this; what's gotten into you?"

I just shrugged.

"I don't really know," I said, as I released him.

"In coming!" came a voice from outside. Just then we heard something running through the living room and suddenly a very hairy creature came skidding into the kitchen.

"Bruno, come here you silly thing," I laughed, as I held out my arms for him to come to me. Bruno shook himself and then walked up to me. I knelt down and gave him a good scratching. Just then Cloak walked in with Bruno's lead in hand.

"Gotcha," he said, as he clipped the lead onto Bruno's collars.

Bruno whined at being caught.

"If you're going to run-a-muck, you're going to need to be controlled with your lead," said Cloak.

Bruno just snorted and then turned his attention back to me.

"I'm done helping the guys out in the front," said Cloak.

"Right," I smiled.

"So, if you would like to come back out to the barn with me…"

"For what?"

"Just training; Monza and Daz will be joining us if it makes you feel better."  
"Okay. Let's not keep them waiting." With that I stood up from my position on the floor and started to walk towards the back door.

"Take Bruno to Mixx please, Zanner," said Cloak, as he handed Bruno's lead to Zanner and started to follow me.

"Right," replied Zanner.

I had just reached the back door, but when I reached for the handle I discovered that Cloak had already grabbed hold of it. I looked up at him and he smiled at me.

"May I?" he asked.

"Sure," I smiled, as I backed up a step or so. Cloak nodded, opened the door, and then stepped aside to allow me to go out first.

"Thanks," I smiled, as I walked past him.

"Anytime," he smiled back, as he followed me out and closed the door behind him.

"You looking forward to this training session, Cloak?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I get to spend some quality time with my girl." Cloak caught up with me and put an arm around my shoulders.

I just smiled at him; it was kinda nice being called his girl.

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After training, Cloak and I found a spot not too far from the house to relax.

"You're quite a good teacher, Cloak," I smiled, as I looked at him.

"Thanks; you're not a bad student," he smiled.

"Thanks."

"Cloak! Cal! Time to come in," called Mrs. T from the house.

"Coming," we replied in unison.

"Well, let's get going," I said, as I started to stand up.

"Right," smiled Cloak, as he stood up too.

I turned to head inside, but Cloak grabbed me by my wrist before I could take a step.

"Yes?" I asked, as I turned to face him.

"C'mere," he smiled cheekily, as he pulled me closer to him.

"What?" I had a good feeling as to what he was going to do, but I still wasn't entirely sure. Cloak quickly cleared the slight confusion up by kissing me.

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Once our lips had parted, I just smiled at him.

"You don't know how tempting it was to kiss you when we were training," he smiled.

I just gave him a nudge and then started to walk back towards the house still holding his hand.

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Once inside, we found the All-stars helping in the kitchen.

"You look good in an apron, Monza," I smiled.

"Very funny," smiled Monza, as he moved a dish onto the table.

"Cal, mind if I talk to you?" asked Mrs. T.

"Sure," I replied, as I released Cloak's hand and started to follow her out of the kitchen.

"Mind keeping an eye on the All-stars, Cloak dear?"

"Course not, mom," smiled Cloak.

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Once out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Mrs. T?" I asked.

"I wanted to know if you would like to come Christmas shopping with me tomorrow," replied Mrs. T.

"Yeah, I would like that. Thanks."

"No problem; I thought you might want to find something for Cloak."

"Yeah, and who better to go with than his mom?"

Mrs. T just smiled at the comment.

"How much longer are you two going to be talking?" asked Cloak, as he poked his head into the room we were in.

"We're done; I was bringing her back now," smiled Mrs. T, as she started to walk back into the kitchen.

"What did my mom want?" asked Cloak, as he walked up to me.

"Nothing to worry about, Cloak," I smiled.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Cloak just smiled.

"Come on, you two, time for dinner," said Zanner, as he poked his head into the room we were in.

"Coming," said Cloak, as he looked at Zanner over his shoulder.

Zanner gave Cloak a teasing look; Cloak just frowned at him and growled.

Zanner chuckled at his cousin and went back into the kitchen.

Cloak just growled a bit in frustration.

"Come on, let's get going," I smiled, as I took hold of his arm and started to lead him towards the kitchen.

"Why don't you get annoyed with him?" asked Cloak.

"I just ignore him."

"You'll have to teach me how to do that."

I just smiled at him.

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The next day, Mrs. T and I went out bright and early; we left a note for Mr. T, Cloak, and Zanner to let them know where we were so that they wouldn't worry. Mrs. T is a surprisingly efficient shopper; I had expected to stay out for several helates, but she had done a majority of her shopping in under one helate.

"Now, what were you thinking of getting?" asked Mrs. T.

"I'm not sure," I replied.

"Well, come on let's see what we can find."

With that Mrs. T took the lead once again and we soon found something for each of the guys back home; I even found her something, but didn't tell her that.

"Now we just have to find something for Bruno and Cloak," I said, as I checked who we had shopped for.

"Okay, well what does Bruno like?" asked Mrs. T.

"Squeaky toys; he loves squeaky toys."

"Okay, and Cloak?"

"I have no idea."

"We'll come back to him then."

I nodded and started to follow Mrs. T as she started to lead the way again.

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After locating some decent squeaky toys for Bruno, Mrs. T took me into a little jewellery store to see if we could find anything to inspire an idea for Cloak's present.

"Ah, velcom ladies; vat can I do fer you today?" asked the sales man; he was a light brown Triceraton with a moustache.

"It's okay, we're just trying to find some inspiration for her boyfriend's present," replied Mrs. T.

"Ahhh, a boyfriend. Vat iz hiz name?"

"Cloak," I replied.

"Cloak; und your name?"

"Cal."

"Hmm, I zink I have just ze zing." The sales man disappeared behind the counter and came out with a necklace of sorts.

"Zis iz ze last 'Cal' haf hearts I have."

"A necklace?" asked Mrs. T.

"Yez; zo vat do you zink?" asked the sales man.

"Would Cloak wear something like this?"

"I don't know; Zanner said he would ask Cloak about something like this," I replied.

"Well,… Zanner hasn't been wrong about what to get Cloak yet."

I just nodded.

"Do you have a matching 'Cloak' half heart?" asked Mrs. T.

"Unfortunately, zat iz reserved," apologised the sales man.

"That's okay," I said.

"You sure, dear?" asked Mrs. T.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Do you mind gift wrapping it?"

"Course not," smiled the sales man.

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After paying for the necklace, Mrs. T and I headed back home to find Cloak waiting on the porch for us.

"Morning, Cloak," I smiled, as I walked up to him.

"Morning," he smiled back, as he met me half way. I set down the bags I was carrying for Mrs. T and gave him a hug as soon as he got close enough.

"Don't disappear like that," he whispered into my ear just before kissing my cheek.

"We left a note," I said before kissing him on his cheek.

"I know, but… I like to see you in the morning." Cloak released me and I released him from our embrace.

"Come on, dear, let's get in before Zanner comes out," said Mrs. T.

"No worries about that, mom; Zanner disappeared shortly after we discovered your note," Cloak informed us.

"Really? That's not like Zanny."

Cloak just shrugged and turned his attention back to me.

"Want me to help carry those?" he asked with a smile.

"No, it okay; I got it," I smiled back; I could see that he was just being sneaky.

"Just because Zanner's not here to be a pest doesn't mean you have to act like him, Cloak dear," smiled Mrs. T, as we headed inside.

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Christmas day soon came and Zanner had us all up by five in the morning; if you think your average five year old is bad on Christmas morning, try Zanner some time and you'll be glad to have just the five year old.

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After watching everyone, including Bruno, open their gifts, Cloak and I were the only two yet to open our gifts from each other.

"Come on you two; let's see how well you did," smiled Mrs. T.

Cloak and I looked at each other, the uneasiness of our choices showing in our eyes.

"Go at the same time," suggested Burn.

We just nodded and almost gingerly opened the boxes. When we finally got the lids off we were dumbfounded at what was inside.

"How did you…," we both started, as we pulled out the interlocking pieces of the necklace that I had bought for Cloak.

"Very vise sales person no?" asked Zanner, as he pulled out a fake moustache.

"You?" Cloak and I chorused again.

"Yes, I knew you two were a bit on edge about the whole gifts thing, hence why I suggested the necklace thing to both of you," he smiled.

Cloak and I just shook our heads at him.

"Right, now that everyone has opened their gifts could we please go back to bed?" asked Burn.

"Of course," smiled Mrs. T.

"See you folks later." With that Burn and the All stars started to head back out to their tent with Bruno following them with his new squeaky toys in his mouths.

"We'll see you kids later," smiled Mrs. T, as she and Mr. T headed back to bed too.

"Okay," chorused Cloak and I.

"You two really need to stop doing that," said Zanner, as he looked at us; he looked quite funny with his new fake moustache on that Mrs. T had given him, it was one of those curly Captain Hook types.  
"Right. Uh,… Zanner," said Cloak.

"Hmm?"

"Mind uh…" Cloak nodded his head towards the door.

Zanner smiled mischievously and nodded.

"You bet," he smiled with a wink, as he gathered up his loot and disappeared back to his room.

"Why was he smiling like that?" I asked.

"He knew that I wanted a moment alone with you is all," smiled Cloak.

I just smiled back.

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The rest of the day kinda past by like any other except for that evening where Cloak took me aside to talk to me.

"Think we could get away for a bit tonight?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure," I smiled.

"You look good with that on." He was referring to the necklace he had bought me.

"Right back at yah."

Cloak just smiled and looked down at his half that I had bought him.

"When do you want me to meet up with you?" I asked.

"When the others head off to town to watch the fireworks. I know of a little vantage point not too far from here that we can watch the fireworks from by ourselves," he replied, as he took my hand into his own to emphasise the 'by ourselves' bit; we hadn't been alone together for a long time now.

"Okay, see you then."

"I'm looking forward to this."

I gave him a friendly nudge and then went off to help Mrs. T in the kitchen.

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Later that evening, we set off with the others when they started to walk down to town, but Cloak made sure we walked at the back and then, when no one was looking, he pulled me to the side and we snuck off on our own.

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Once we were far enough away, I looked up at Cloak.

"What's with the secrecy?" I asked in a whisper.

"Just so that no one knows where we've gotten off to," he replied.

"Why?"

"Melody has a way of getting things out of people and so long as no one knows where we are…"

"They can't tell where we are. Clever."

"That's why you started dating me, ain't it?" Cloak put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

I just smiled and gave him a nudge with my hip as we continued to walk towards this spot that he knew of.

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We soon arrived at a quiet little spot under a tree that was on a hill over looking the village.

"Looks like they're about to start," commented Cloak, as we sat down next to each other on the grass.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Just before the first firework went up, Cloak put his arm around my shoulders and used his other hand to turn my head towards him; he smiled and kissed me just as the first firework went up.

"Some people 'hear' fireworks when they kiss, but I wanted us to actually hear them," he smiled once our lips had parted.

"(Giggle) You're a real romantic, you know that," I smiled, as I leaned against him.

"Thanks." Cloak tightened his grip on my shoulders, pulling me closer, and we spent the next few hours just watching the fireworks going up. When we got back to the house we were informed that Melody had indeed come looking for Cloak; Cloak was glad that his plan had worked and so was I, I'm not entirely comfortable with some other girl trying her luck with my fella.

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Not much happened in the next week, but Cloak and I did continue our training along side some of the All-stars; Cloak seemed to feel better when they were around. Mr. and Mrs. T, Cloak, Zanner, the All-stars, Bruno, Burn, and I were just relaxing outside when a loud buzzing sound was heard from inside.

"I'll be right back," smiled Cloak, as he patted me on the shoulder and then disappeared inside.

It wasn't long before he re-emerged with a serious look on his face.

"Something wrong, Cloak?" I asked.

"(Sighs) I'll be leaving sooner than I thought," he replied, as he looked at his parents.

"Something come up?" asked Mr. T.

"Yeah, the Federation has decided to launch an attack on the home world."

"Oh, right."

"And I'll be needed to help defend it."

We all just nodded.

"Cal, mind if I have a word with you… alone?" he asked, as he held out his hand for me to take.

"Sure," I replied, as I got up, took his hand and allowed him to lead me off to behind the house.

"What's up?" I asked, as he stopped.

Before saying anything, Cloak quickly kissed me.

"Cloak?" I asked once our lips had parted.

"I'm surprised that you're taking this so well," he said, as he cupped my cheek in his hand and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"Hey, you're a pilot in the army; I had to anticipate this." I put my hand onto his and gave him a reassuring smile.

Cloak just smiled and rested his head against mine.

"I'm glad you understand," he smiled.

"I'm going to miss you though," I said, as I looked into his eyes trying to memorise everything I could about him before he left.

His smile disappeared and his eyes showed his uneasiness about leaving me.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't want you to worry about me," he replied, as he removed his head from mine, pulled me closer in an embrace, and gently put his head over my shoulder.

"I won't."

"Problem is I know you too well; you worry too much."

"I worry just the right amount."  
"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

Cloak pushed me up against the wall and pinned me there.

"Don't argue with me," he chuckled.

"If you stop squashing me I will," I giggled back.

He just chuckled again as he released me a bit and stood up to his usual height.

"I'm going to miss you, baby," he smiled.

"We'll be together again soon right?" I asked.

His face lost its smile yet again and a look of uneasiness took over again.

"Soonish then," I smiled, trying to get him to smile again.

"I don't know, but I do know that the first thing I'm going to do once I'm allowed to leave is come back to you," he said with a gentle smile.

I couldn't think of anything decent to say in response to that so I did what I thought would convey the message as clearly as possible; I kissed him. This was the first time I had kissed him and he seemed to be a bit surprised by it, but it didn't seem to keep him from kissing me back.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted by Zanner coming 'round the corner to check up on us.

"Oh! Am I interrupting something?" he asked with that silly grin of his on his face.

Cloak and I gently broke apart; we had become quite used to this, and just glared at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Leave. Now," said Cloak.

"Okay, okay, I'll just tell the guys 'round front…"

"We'll be there in a minute."

Zanner just smiled at us and then left us in peace.

"Should we get going?" I sighed, as I gently stroked Cloak's cheek; he leaned his head into my hand.

"Yeah, before he tells anyone else," smiled Cloak, as he pulled me closer and kissed my forehead gently before leading the way back to the front.

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Apparently, Cloak had to leave tomorrow morning so I helped him with his packing.

"I didn't expect to be sat on a stool in the corner when you asked me to help with your packing, Cloak," I said, as I watched him pack.

"Hey, I want to spend every moment I have left here with you. We may not see each other for a while; besides, you are helping," replied Cloak, as he walked over to a shelf just next to me to fetch something.

"How?"

"You're keeping me company."

"Whatever." Just then I felt something wrap around my midsection. I looked down and smiled when I saw that it was Cloak's tail; this was one of his newer ways of showing affection when a) he didn't want anyone to really notice and b) when his hands were full.

"Just don't pull me off of here, Cloak," I said, as I patted his tail.

Just to freak me out a bit he tugged gently on his tail.

"Cloak!" I reprimanded, as I put a hand onto his side to stabilise myself.

He just chuckled and squeezed me slightly with his tail; I just shook my head and tried to make sure I could keep my balance. The rest of the day was quite quiet; everyone seemed to be sobered by the news of Cloak's leaving.

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The next morning, we all stood outside with Cloak while he waited for the transport ship that was going to pick him up.

"You'll take Cal straight to Augie's when you leave right?" I heard Cloak whisper to Monza.

"You bet. You told her yet?" asked Monza.

"No."

"Cloak!"

"Look, you're better at explaining things than me."

"To your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

Monza just gave Cloak a look.

I was about to ask what was going on, but my attention was called elsewhere by the sound of a transport ship descending.

"Your ride's here," commented Zanner, as he shielded his eyes from the sun and watched the ship land.

"Yeah. Take care everyone," said Cloak.

"We will," we chorused.

"And you… wait for me." Cloak turned to me and put his head against mine.

"You bet," I smiled back.

Cloak kissed me gently, picked up his bag and then took his leave. Before leaving us completely he looked back and waved to us; we waved back all trying to be strong and not show our sadness at his leaving. Soon the ship took off and we all began to head back inside.


	24. Chapter 24

.Chapter twenty-four.

Once back inside, I decided to ask Monza about this Augie character.

"Uh, Monza," I said.

"Yes," Monza responded.

"Who's this Augie guy that you're supposed to take me too when we get back to the home world?"

"You over heard Cloak and I."

"Yes."

"Well, Augie is an old friend of Cloak's and seeing as you resigned from Zanramon's employment…"

"Whoa! Rewind! When did I resign?"

"Cloak didn't tell you that either?"

"What?"

"He owes me so-o much after this."

"Monza, what's going on?"

"Cloak resigned you from Zanramon's employment and got you a job at a restaurant that belongs to his friend, Augie."

I just groaned and rubbed my eyes with my hand, not entirely sure how to take this.

"Cloak just didn't want you near Zanramon for too much longer," explained Monza.

"Ahh, that makes sense now," I nodded.

"We'll be heading home within the next few days too."

"Okay."

A few days later, Monza, the All-stars, Burn, Bruno, and myself left Mr. T, Mrs. T and Zanner and headed back to the home world.

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Once back on the home world, Zap and Monza escorted me through to this Augie's place. It was quite a quaint little place, and Augie wasn't too bad of a chap either.

"Make sure you take care of her, Augie," said Monza, as he pushed me towards Augie.

"Will do, Monza," smiled Augie; he was only about 6' tall, orange in colouration, and had a brown marking on his beak in the shape of a moustache.

"Where will she be staying?" asked Zap.

"She'll be staying with me and my wife here," replied Augie.

"You live here?"

"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse us; I must get back to work and to introducing Cal here to her new career."

"Yes sir," chorused Monza and Zap.

"Take care, Cal," smiled Zap.

"Will do, Zap," I smiled back, as I gave him a hug goodbye.

"We'll be coming to check up on you," smiled Monza.

"Looking forward to it," I smiled back, giving him a hug goodbye too.

"Come on, my dear, let's get you acquainted with some of your new work colleagues," said Augie, as he put a hand on my back and began to lead me inside.

I just nodded and waved back at Monza and Zap before they left.

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Once inside, the first beings I saw besides Augie were two charming young Triceratons; they were dressed in waiter's outfits. The one winked at me and the other just waved; I just waved back. Augie must have noticed me waving to them because he signalled to someone and they were the ones who came over.

"Boys, this is Cal. Cal this is Carix and Darix; they're fraternal twins," said Augie.

"Pleased to meet you, boys," I smiled.

"Pleasures all ours, babe," smirked Darix, as he took my hand in his and kissed it; he was about 6'2" and a reddish colour like Zanramon.

"Darix! Sorry about him, Miss; my brother tends to have way too much luck with the ladies so he sometimes forgets how to treat them with respect," apologised Carix, as he pushed Darix back some; he was also 6'2" and a typical Triceraton orange.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled.

"Yeah, she's taken anyway," smiled Augie.

"By who?" asked Darix, in a slightly disappointed tone.

I just giggled at his response.

"A good friend of mine, Cloak, and I won't allow anyone to poach her from him; understand?" asked Augie.

"Yes sir," chorused the twins.

"I'll leave you in the care of the twins, Cal; I must get back to helping my wife."

"Yes sir," I smiled, as the twins moved to stand either side of me.

Augie nodded at me, gave the twins each a stern look, and then went to help his wife.

"I suppose the boss will want us to get you into uniform," said Carix.

I heard Darix chuckle next to me.

"Correction, I'll get you your uniform and Darix will be getting back to work," said Carix, as he took hold of my shoulders and began to steer me towards the back of the shop.

"Come on, bro…," started Darix, as he began to follow us.

"Get back to work; I can take care of Cal by myself."

"Yeah, but doesn't mean you have to; besides, since when do you get off telling me what to do?"

"Since I'm older than you."

"By less than a trigon!"

"I'm technically older than you and that's that. Now, please…"

Darix just gave Carix a look and folded his arms over his chest.

"(Sighs irritably) Behave yourself then," said Carix, as he continued to steer me towards the back of the shop.

Darix's face brightened at hearing that and began to follow us again.

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Once in the back, Carix left me with Darix for a trigon or so to retrieve my uniform.

"So, you're Cloak's gal," commented Darix.

"That's right," I replied.

He nodded.

"Just remember, if things don't work out between you two I'm available," he said with a smile.

"And you will be for the rest of your existence if you carry on like that," commented Carix, as he walked back up to us with my uniform draped over his arms.

Darix just pulled a tongue at his brother and Carix just gave him a, 'that's so-o mature' look.

"Here's your uniform; you can try it on in here," said Carix, as he handed me my uniform and showed me to a small room.

"Thanks," I smiled, as I walked in and closed the door behind me.

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After insuring that the door was closed properly, I set about changing. I pulled my uniform out and was slightly horrified at what I saw. Fortunately, it wasn't the texture or the colour; black and white definitely can't be horrifying. Unfortunately, it was the actual design and style of the clothes; the top was a short sleeve, v-neck in black, then there was a somewhat lacy apron in white, and finally there was a knee high black skirt. It was the skirt that got my goat; I'm one of those girls who doesn't wear skirts or dresses and now my uniform consisted of one. I cringed as soon as I laid eyes on the uniform, but put it on anyway; I didn't look too bad, but I wasn't a happy camper.

"You okay in there?" asked Carix through the door.

"Depends on your definition of the word," I replied.

"Still conscious."

"Yeah, I'm great then."

"How do you like the uniform?"

"No comment."

"That bad huh?"

As I opened the door he got a bit of a fright and jumped back a pace or so.

"'Bad' doesn't even begin to describe how much I don't like it," I said, as I walked out carrying my old clothes over my arm.

Darix just whistled and looked me over quickly.

"I don't know what you're complaining about; I think you look great," he smirked.

"Ignore him," said Carix, as he moved into Darix's line of view.

Darix just gave his brother a displeased look.

"Good luck; you begin in one trigon," said Carix, as he handed me a notepad, pencil, and booklet.

"What?" I squeaked; I didn't know if I would be able to do the job properly seeing as I had no idea as to what I was going to be doing.

"Read the booklet; it'll tell you what you need to know. Darix and I will be on call if you need us; just come to the door over there and signal for us to come to you."

"Okay. Thanks."

Carix just nodded and smiled at me before escorting his brother back into the main shop.

I began to read the booklet as soon as they had started to walk off; I was so glad that Zanramon had taught me how to read Triceratonese now.

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When the trigon was up, I had a basic understanding of what was expected of me and went out into the main shop to do what I was supposed to. Fortunately, the place wasn't too busy and the day ended rather quickly. Augie showed me through to where I would be staying and introduced me to his wife, Nissa; she's very nice. I also met several of the other waitresses (yes, I'm a waitress at this restaurant) and discovered that Carix and Darix are the only waiters here; Darix was quite well known and liked by the waitresses, but Carix was a little distant from them and seemed to be somewhat disliked by them as well. The first few weeks of work were quite uneventful, but then came the one day I wish had never happened.

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I was busy seeing to the various tables I had been assigned, when one of the other waitresses approached me.

"Cal," she called.

"Hmm?" I responded.

"Mind clearing up table five for me?"

"Sure, no problem." With that I headed over to table five; it wasn't in my jurisdiction, but I didn't mind helping out.

Fortunately, the place wasn't too busy, it was near closing time and the table wasn't too messy just a glass and the customer.

"May I?" I asked, as I came up to the table.

The customer had a newspaper up in front of his face so I couldn't see what he looked like. He just nodded and waved a hand at me as if he were the Prime Leader or something.

"Thanks, sir," I smiled politely, as I removed the glass and walked back to the kitchen. I heard the paper come down from the customer's face after that, but I didn't turn to see what he looked like.

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Just before the restaurant closed, Augie went to remove the customer whose table I had cleared; I stayed close at hand in case he needed help.

"Cal," called Augie.

"Sir," I replied.

Augie signalled to me to come over to him and the customer.

"Sir," I said, as I began to approach them.

The customer chuckled as I approached.

"You are still too formal, Cal," said an all too familiar voice.

"Zanramon?" I asked, as I stopped next to Augie and recognised the Prime Leader.

"You do remember me," he smiled.

"How could I forget?"

"How are you?"

"Fine thanks."

"I'll leave you two alone. Cal, lock up when you're done, 'ey," said Augie, as he began to leave.

"Sir," I nodded, not really wanting to be left alone with Zanramon.

"I'll tell Carix and Darix to keep their eyes on you two at all times," whispered Augie into my ear before he left.

"Thanks sir."

Augie just nodded at me and then at Zanramon, after which he left us.

"So, how long have you been here?" asked Zanramon.  
"A few weeks," I replied.

"Sit down, my dear, we're no longer employer employee."

I just nodded and sat down somewhat gingerly on the seat opposite him.

"You know that resignation note you sent me was something of a heart breaker, my dear," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said.

"Why did you leave? I thought you were quite content working for me."

"I was."

"Then why leave?"

"Well, uh…"

"That new beau of yours?" I could hear in his voice that he wouldn't be pleased if I said so.

"Sorta perhaps; I don't know."

He just nodded, leaned back in his chair and put his fingers together while he willed himself into keeping his cool.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are things going with your new boyfriend?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"They were going well, but…"

"Do I hear a past tense and a 'but' in this sentence?"

"You didn't let me finish; everything has been going well, but then he was sent off to protect the home world, so I haven't seen him for a past few weeks."

"Has he called you?"

"No."

"Mmm, how about a letter?"

"No."

"I see." Zanramon chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing to worry your pretty little head over, my darling. This chap of yours, what's his name?"

I didn't know what to do now; if I said it was Cloak there's a good chance that things could get a bit difficult for him, but if I didn't I would be lying.

"Cal," came Carix's voice from the back.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Yes?" I asked, as I turned my head to see him.  
"You're kinda needed over here."

"Right. I'm sorry about his, Zanramon."  
Zanramon just shrugged.

"It's business; besides, I had better get going home too," he smiled, as he stood up with me.

"Right," I nodded.

"I'll see you soon, I hope."

"Perhaps."

Zanramon just smiled at me and then took his leave, while I went to see what Carix wanted.

"Yes?" I asked, as I got to him.

"Just an act to get Zanramon to leave you alone," he smiled.

"Thanks." With that I gave him a hug around his neck.

"Uh… what are you doing?"

"Giving you a hug, duh."

"And me?" asked Darix.

"What did you do?"

"I haven't flirted with you all day!"

I looked at Carix.

"If you don't I'll be getting an earful for the rest of my days," smiled Carix.

I just sighed, walked over to Darix and gave him a hug too.

"You sure you still want Cloak? I mean… I'm here," he suggested.

"No thanks," I said sternly, pushing him away and backing up myself.

"Come on, bro, let's go. See you in the morning, Cal," smiled Carix.

"See you in the morning, boys," I smiled back, as they began to leave.

They waved back before exiting and then I went about the job of locking up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, I was busy cleaning the tables while Augie was busy with some paper work. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Someone here at this time?" I asked myself, as I began to head for the door.

"Cal," hissed Augie, as he came out of his office.

I turned to look at him and he signalled for me to stay where I was while he went to the door.

"Who goes there?" Augie asked.

"Prime Leader Zanramon," came the reply.

Augie opened the door a jar, but then opened it fully.

"Sorry about that, sir, but you can never be too careful," Augie apologised.

"Of course," smiled Zanramon, as he walked in.

I decided that now would be a good time to leave and began to try a discreet exit.

"What brings you here at this time, sir?" asked Augie, as I made it to the back room and decided to hide in it.

"I came to have a word with one of your waitresses if that's not too much of a problem," replied Zanramon; I could still hear them from my hiding place.

"Well, most of them aren't here this early, sir."

"I know, but I also know that the one I want to talk to lives with you and your wife."

"Oh."

"Yes. Cal's her name; mind if I…"

"I suppose not, sir; I'll retrieve her for you."

"Thanks."

Then I heard Augie's footsteps approaching the back room and then I felt the door being opened into me; I moved away to allow Augie in.

"Zanramon wants a word with you," he said.

I just cringed.

"I know, but don't worry Carix and Darix will be in soon and I'll have them keep an eye on you two," said Augie.

"Thanks sir," I smiled weakly, as I made my way out and to Zanramon.

"Morning, sir," I smiled, as I walked up to Zanramon.

"Cal," he smiled back.

"What brings you hear at such an early hour?"

"Take a guess."

I thought for a moment, but really didn't want to say what I thought the reason was.

"I give up," I replied.

"You," he smiled.

"Sir, that's… very flattering, but why?"

"Ever since you left I've been trying to find you to try to get you back."

"I'm very sorry, sir, but I'm quite happy here."

Zanramon just smiled at me.

"Sir?" I asked, knowing that he was up to something.

"You and your 'sirs'," he smiled.

I just rolled my eyes.

"When do you get off of work?" he asked.

"Five, why?" I asked.

"Meet me in the alley behind the restaurant then; okay?"

"Sure, but why?"

"You'll see." With that Zanramon put a hand on my cheek and stroked it gently before leaving.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once he had disappeared, Augie came out of his office.

"What did he want?" he asked bluntly.

"I… don't actually know, but I do know that he's up to something," I replied.

"Hmm, that's not good; especially seeing as it's Zanramon that we're talking about."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, don't worry about it now; we'll take this one step at a time." Augie put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Augie."

Augie just smiled again and patted my shoulder as he began to walk back to his office.

It wasn't long after that that Carix and Darix arrived at work and I explained the situation to them; it was better to tell them straight out instead of hiding it from them because they always weaselled the info out of me one way or another.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, while cleaning up some dishes, I over heard some of the other waitresses swooning over something or other; against my better judgement I went over to have a look at what they were going gaga over.

"What are you looking at?" I asked cautiously; I'm not a huge favourite to them.

"If you must know, it's a collection of pictures of some of the…," started one of them coldly; she was a tall, light brown Triceraton.

"Cutest guys in the army!" squeaked another; she was a bit shorter than the first and a light orange in colour.

"Really? Who's the 'hotty of the cycle' then?" I asked.

They all just looked at me a bit surprised.

"What?" I asked.

"Since when do you know those terms?" asked the light brown one.

"Well, you aren't so different from earth girls in that respect."

They just nodded at the explanation.

"So?" I asked.

"This guy," said the light brown one, as she moved aside to let me see a picture of a Triceraton in the magazine they were looking at; he definitely had good looks. He was about 6'2" tall, seemed to be in his early twenties, was a dirty orange in colour and wore a pilot's uniform with the sleeves ripped off; take a guess who it is.

"Uh, what's his name?" I asked, trying to ascertain if it was Cloak or not because this guy looked an awful lot like him.

"Cloak Enigma Titanium," they all sighed in unison.

"Is he taken?"

"Not that we know of, but then again we've only known of his existence for the past day or so," replied the light brown one.

"I see."

"But from what we've read the chances are highly unlikely."

"Oh."

"Yeah, says that he isn't exactly the type who's incredibly interested in dating."

/If only they knew,/ I thought to myself. I didn't want to say anything about Cloak and I because of their obvious interest in him and their disfavour of me already; the last thing I needed was for them to hate me any more because of my going out with Cloak.

"Does it say anything about when the soldiers will be coming back to their families?" I asked.

"Nah," they chorused.

"Right." With that I went about my business.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day went by all too fast for me and soon it was six o'clock, the time I had agreed to meet up with Zanramon 'round back.

"We'll be right here if you need us," said Carix, as he and Darix walked behind me to the back door.

"Thanks guys; just stay out of sight please, at least until something happens where I need you assistance," I said.

"Example?" asked Darix.

"I… I really don't know. Carix, you're a good judge of situations; you decide when to move and when not to."

"Okay."

"And me?" asked Darix.

"Just listen to Carix," I smiled.

Darix just gave me a look and then another look to his brother.

"You wanna offend the lady and lose any chances you have with her by not listening?" grinned Carix.

Darix just narrowed his eyes at his brother, but left it at that. I had told them to wait behind the door so that they would be out of sight, but right in earshot. I breathed in a calming breath before putting my hand on the handle, but just as I did that I felt a hand on my shoulder; I turned my head to see who it was and found that it was Carix.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No, just… be careful out there; okay?" he asked with a smile.

I just smiled and nodded back.

"It's the back alley! Not a battle ground!" exclaimed Darix.

"Keep it down," growled Carix, as he let go of my shoulder and I walked out into the back alley. I looked around a bit to see if Zanramon was there yet and soon discovered that he was being fashionably late.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fortunately, it wasn't long before he did show up.

"Sorry about the delay, my dear, but I had some business to deal with," apologised Zanramon, as he walked up to me.

"No problem," I smiled.

"You look beautiful this evening."

"Thanks; now, what did you want?"

"I want you to come back to work for me."

"S-i-r."

"Don't 'sir' me, my darling, I…"

"And please don't call me 'darling'!" I clasped my hands to my mouth as soon as I realised that I had yelled at the Prime Leader; Zanramon just looked at me in surprise.

"Did you just…," he started.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Just watch your mouth."

"Yes sir."

"Look, I like you; you know that full well…"

"Yes sir."

"And I want you back in my life, my love."

"I'm sorry, sir, but that's impossible."

"Impossible or improbable?"

"Im-poss-i-ble; I'm in love with someone else. I'm very sorry, Zanramon, but that's the truth and I can't betray him."

"I still don't know who you're dating. My best bet is that it's Cloak, but I'm still not one-hundred percent certain."

"That's just a piece of information that you'll have to discover the hard way, sir."

Zanramon thought for a moment and then walked up to me.

"Cal, please reconsider my offer; if you would like to come…," started Zanramon.

"Leave," I said plainly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Leave."

"My darling, I'm not sure I understand…"

"Leave, as in move it; I don't want to see you again until my male friend has returned from his station."

"You're tempted then?" Zanramon was just starting to annoy me now; I wasn't in the best mental state as it was, being separated from Cloak and all.

"Please leave," I said sternly.

"Okay, okay. The soldiers should be back from their stations soon; we've almost defeated our enemies. I look forward to seeing you again, my dear," smirked Zanramon, as he turned and headed back the way he had come.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once he was out of earshot I was able to express my irritability in a way I thought just.

"Ooh! That man!" I growled, as I clenched my fists and stamped one foot.

"You okay?" asked Carix, as he and Darix came out from their hiding place.

"Yeah; just annoyed is all."

"Well, looks like he won't be bothering you for a while."

"I'm not too sure about that, he's not known to give up very easily."

Carix just put his hands on my shoulders and gently rubbed them to calm me down a bit.

"Thanks," I smiled, as I put a hand on his.

"Come on; let's get you back inside."

I just nodded and began to lead the way back inside.


	25. Chapter 25

.Chapter twenty-five.

The next day, I had gone out to pick something up for Augie and when I came back, near closing time, the waitresses had kinda congregated around the front desk; as I walked past I could just see that there was a male Triceraton in the group too. I walked into the back room and started to pack away what Augie had wanted me to pick up. I heard Augie telling the girls that it was closing time and I heard some of them asking if their new male friend would walk them home, but, I'm guessing, he refused, because I heard several disappointed 'aww's.

"See you tomorrow, girls," I heard Augie say, as he ushered them out.

"See yah," said several of them to their male friend.

I heard a male's voice shortly after the door closed addressing Augie, but I couldn't quite tell what he was saying.

"Right through there," replied Augie.

I continued to pack away Augie's shipment until I was interrupted by someone picking me up from behind. I squeaked slightly in surprise, but was silenced quickly by the guy who had picked me up kissing me. I struggled to free myself from this rather forward fella; when I finally succeeded in breaking the kiss, I frowned at him, but then smiled when I saw who it was.

"Cloak?" I asked.

"Hey babe," he smiled back, as he set me back down on my own two feet.

"Cloak! What are you doing here?!" I quickly put my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Don't you remember? I said as soon as I was given leave I would come back to you." Cloak put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him in a hug.

"Now I do."

Just as Cloak and I released each other from our embrace we heard a clang and the next thing I knew I was supporting Cloak's unconscious body.

"Cloak!" I exclaimed, as I tried to keep him up.

"That's him sorted," said a familiar voice.

I looked up and saw Carix holding a frying pan in his hand.

"Carix! Why did you do that?!" I asked in a squeaky voice.

"I was given the charge of keeping you out of the hands of any other males until your boyfriend, Cloak, returned," he replied.

"Carix, this is Cloak!" Cloak was starting to get a bit heavy for me to hold up.

"It is?" Carix just looked at Cloak a bit oddly.

"Yeah!"

"Sorry."

"Never mind, just help me get him back 'round."

Carix helped me move Cloak onto a bench in the back of the room, then he went to fetch an ice pack for the back of Cloak's head to bring down any swelling that may have started from his hitting him with the frying pan.

* * *

After sitting with Cloak's head on my lap for several minutes, stroking the side of it gently in hopes that it would wake him up, I eventually got a response in the form of a groan.

"Cloak," I said softly.

"Cal?" he asked groggily.

"Cloak, you okay?"

"What hit me?"

"That would have been me," said Carix; he had stayed with me while I waited for Cloak to regain consciousness.

Cloak looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Who are you?" he asked, as he started to sit up.

"I'm Carix; I was appointed to take care of Cal until you returned."

"How does clobbering me with… whatever you used…"

"A frying pan."

"Right; how does clobbering me with a frying pan come into this?"

"I didn't know who you were; I was simply told to make sure no males got too close to Cal until you came back and… when I found you holding Cal…"

Cloak merely smiled at Carix.

"It's okay; you didn't know," he smiled.

Carix just smiled weakly at Cloak and then at me.

I smiled back at him, but my attention was soon brought back to Cloak as I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Shall we get going?" he asked.

"Going? Where?" I asked.

"I told Augie that you would be resigning when I returned."

"What?" Carix and I asked in unison.

"Didn't he inform you?" Cloak asked.

"No," I replied, as I shook my head.

"Well, that was the deal; your replacement arrives tomorrow."

"Oh."

"You'll be staying in the apartment just a few doors down from mine; it belongs to a friend of mine who's gone on holiday."

I couldn't help but smile at Cloak.

"But what about a job?" asked Carix.

"I'll find something," Cloak replied.

"You okay with this, Cal?"

"I'm getting used to it," I replied.

Carix just gave Cloak an odd look.

"Now, go get your bag and we'll get going," said Cloak, as he gently pulled me closer and gave me a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Okay," I smiled, as I got up and headed for my room to fetch my things.

* * *

Once I had fetched my things I rejoined Cloak and Carix.

"Ready?" Cloak asked.

"Yeah," I smiled.

"I guess this is goodbye then, huh?" asked Carix.

"No, just until next time."

Carix just smiled at me; I could see in his eyes that he wasn't betting on that.

"Come on, Cal," said Cloak, as he began to lead me out of the back room.

I waved goodbye to Carix over my shoulder as Cloak and I left the room; he waved back just before the door closed behind me.

* * *

It didn't take long to get to Cloak's friend's flat, where I was supposed to be staying. Cloak unlocked the door and handed me the key card afterwards.

"I hope you like it here," he smiled, as he walked in ahead of me.

As I walked in after him, I saw that the apartment looked similar to Cloak's.

"I'm sure I will," I replied with a smile.

"Good; I'll leave you to get settled then."

"Thanks."

With that he began to walk back to the door.

"I'll be back to check on you in a helate," he said, as he opened the door.

"Okay, see you then," I smiled.

He nodded as he stepped out and closed the door again. I smiled to myself and then set about finding the bed room to put my stuff down.

* * *

The apartment was very homey; I placed my bag in the bedroom and then went for a quick exploration. After finishing up my little one man tour I went into the living room area and sat down somewhat gingerly on the sofa to wait for Cloak. I didn't have to wait long; not one trigon later I heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, as I walked over to the door with the key card in my hand.

"Who do you think?" I heard Cloak say on the other side.

I slid the key card through the lock and opened the door, but when the door opened I was surprised to find two Triceratons on the other side.

"Oh! Who's your friend?" I asked.

"Uh… Cal, this is Boomer; he's my new boarder," Cloak replied a bit uneasily.

"Right. Hi."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sweetness," Boomer said, as he took my hand and kissed it rather sloppily; he was an almost yellow coloured Triceraton, about Cloak's height and was dressed rather casually for any Triceraton I had ever seen. I cringed inwardly at the gesture; Cloak gave him a glare, put his hand onto his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Easy Romeo; she's mine. Remember?" Cloak asked, as he walked in ahead of Boomer.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; I know. Don't worry," Boomer smiled.

Cloak gave Boomer one last look and then turned his attention to me.

"So, what do you think of the place so far?" he asked, as he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to himself.

"It's great. Thanks," I replied.

"Good." He squeezed my shoulders slightly and smiled.

I just smiled at him and rested my head against his chest; it had been so long since we had seen each other that I was just glad to see him again.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"You know I did," I replied.

Cloak smiled, turned to fully face me and kissed me gently.

"I missed you too," he said, pulling me closer in a hug.

"Aww," said Boomer in the background.

I saw Cloak wrinkle his snout and curl his lip at Boomer in an attempt to shut him up; course it didn't work.

"So, what's new in your life since we last saw each other a few orbital cycles ago?" I asked, as I looked up at Cloak.

"Not too much," he replied with a smile.

"You sure?"

Cloak just nodded.

"No problems with Zanramon?" I asked.

"Of course not," he replied.

I gave him a probing look; I wasn't entirely sure if he was telling the truth.

"Would I lie to you?" he asked.

"I guess not," I replied.

"'Guess not?'!" he squeaked in mock hurt.

I couldn't help but giggle and smile at him.

"Sweetheart, I would never lie to you," he said, pulling me closer and nuzzling his head next to mine gently.

"Never say never," I smiled.

He just gave me a gentle nudge to tell me not to ruin the moment.

"What about that big bash you're supposed to go to?" asked Boomer in the background.

"What?" I asked, as Cloak released me slightly to glare at Boomer.

"It's nothing," Cloak replied, as he looked down at me with a gentler expression.

"A personal invitation from the Prime Leader to meet with him to recognise the guys who did the most work in the fight against the Federation isn't nothing my friend," said Boomer.

"Uh…," Cloak said, unsure what to say next now that the cover was blown.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he admitted a bit unhappily.

"You weren't going to go… were you?"

"It's just so… formal and not to mention embarrassing when my family gets wind of it."

I giggled slightly; having met his family I understood what he meant by that.

"I see," I smiled.

"Good," he smiled.

"So you're definitely not going?"

"Yes."

I just nodded.

"Then your family will be travelling from their farm for nothing?" asked Boomer.

"What?" Cloak asked.

"Yeah, got a phone call a few weeks back; they'll be here soon."

Cloak's eyes went wide at the news and I bit my lip slightly; this couldn't end well.

"And you didn't tell me?!" he asked in an almost growl.

"Didn't I?" Boomer asked.

Cloak was fuming to say the least.

"You want to take this outside?" I asked.

"Thank you," Cloak said, as we released each other and Cloak stalked over to Boomer. He picked him up by the collar and tail and hauled him outside of my apartment with Boomer protesting all the way.

* * *

Unfortunately for Cloak nothing could be done about stopping his family from coming out and that meant that he had to go to this shindig. The day before the event he and Boomer came to visit me.

"Sorry about not being able to get you a job just yet, Sweetheart," he said, as he rested his back against the backrest of the sofa and squeezed my hand slightly

"Don't worry about it; I've sorted it out," I smiled.

"How?"

"Bumped into Zap on the way home the other day; apparently Bruno needs someone to stay with him at the training hall during the day."

Cloak smiled and chuckled silently.

"When do you start?" he asked.

"Beginning of next week," I smiled.

"Great."

He sighed somewhat uneasily.

"You okay?" I asked, putting my free hand onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, just…," he started.

"You're not comfortable about going to this thing tomorrow."

"Yeah. What makes it worse is that you're coming."

"Hey! You know full well that I'm a quiet person by nature and that I won't be over the top like a certain cousin of yours."

Cloak chuckled at my protest.

"I mean because you and Zanramon will be in the same area," he explained.

"Oh," I nodded.

"I'm not embarrassed by you, no."

"Good."

He chuckled a bit more.

"So…," started Boomer.

Cloak and I looked over at him.

"What you gonna be wearing to this thing, Cal?" he asked.

Cloak narrowed his eyes at him.

"Just curious, Buddy," said Boomer.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Boomer," I smiled.

"Ah, come on."

I just smiled and shook my head.

"Fine," he said in defeat.

I just nodded.

"Well, we better get back home, Boomer," said Cloak, as he prepared to get up.

"Yeah. You need to check that you have everything for tomorrow evening," said Boomer, as he got up from his chair.

"See you tomorrow, Cal."

"See you then, Cloak," I smiled, as I stood up alongside him. We quickly gave each other a kiss and then he left to head back to his apartment with Boomer in tow. I smiled as I watched him leave, but my expression soon turned serious once Cloak and Boomer were out. I knew why Cloak wasn't too keen on this event; I think he would much prefer to be back at his post fending off Federation soldiers by himself than deal with the no doubt awkward and difficult situation of tomorrow evening and he wasn't the only one feeling like that by the way.


	26. Chapter 26

.Chapter twenty-six.

Whether Cloak and I liked it or not; we arrived at the award ceremony on time with his family. It wasn't just his mom, dad, and Zanner this time though; I had the privilege of meeting his Aunty Iridisa, the one who told on Cloak and me, and several other of his family members.

"Well, this is where I leave you guys; take care of her for me, Zanner," said Cloak, as he released my hand and gave his cousin a semi-serious look.

"Sure thing, Cloak," smiled Zanner, as he put a hand onto my shoulder.

Cloak nodded, smiled and nodded to his family and then left to join the other officers.

"Let's find our seats," said Mr. T.

The rest of us agreed and followed his lead.

* * *

It wasn't long after that, that Zanramon appeared on the stage that was in the hall.

"Evening all," he said.

Everyone said their 'evenings' to the Prime Leader to which he nodded in recognition.

"As you all know, we are here this evening to honour those soldiers who have shown exceptional bravery, ingenuity, and loyalty during their service to the Triceraton cause," he continued.

The audience nodded in agreement.

"So let us not waste time; I believe these are in alphabetical order. Officer Zindak Alkero," started Zanramon; it was a long list and Cloak was right near the end of it.

* * *

Eventually it was Cloak's turn.

"And last but not least officer Cloak Titanium for his bravery and ingenuity in the last battle with the Federation," said Zanramon, as he picked up the last plaque in the stack and turned to face Cloak as he walked towards him.

There was a roar of applause from the crowd, but it wasn't the whole crowd, just Cloak's family.

"I see your family hasn't lost it's… individuality just yet," commented Zanramon.

"No, but I wish they would," Cloak replied, as he shook Zanramon's hand and took his plaque. I smiled at him; proud to see him receiving his award and actually putting on a rather good act with Zanramon, you wouldn't have thought that there was so much tension between them. Cloak must have spotted me 'cause he smiled back. I think Zanramon caught on that it wasn't his family that he was smiling at; even though they had quietened down again. I caught him smiling to himself while looking out of the corner of his eye in my general direction. Shortly after Cloak returned to his seat, the ceremony was over and the 'festivities' began.

"Well done, my boy," smiled Mr. T, as he patted his son on the back.

"Thanks dad," Cloak smiled back.

Suddenly Zanner grabbed me by my arm and began to gently pull me forward.

"Hey! Zanner," I protested.

"Here yah go, cuz; just like you left her," Zanner said, as he let go of my arm and pushed me towards Cloak.

The others chuckled at Zanner's antics; I just shook my head at him as Cloak pulled me closer to himself.

"Thanks Zanner," he smiled.

"Anytime," Zanner replied.

Suddenly Zanner caught sight of the food table.  
"Now, if you'll excuse me; I hear the dinner bell ringing," he smiled, as he began to make his way over there.

"Not a bad idea," agreed Mr. T, as he and the others began to make their way over.

"You want to join them?" Cloak asked me.

"Not really," I replied.

"I hope this whole thing didn't bore you too much."

"Course it didn't. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Cloak smiled, " I just wish we could get going home already," he said.

"You're not the only one who feels that way," I said.

"I guess it's a certain Prime Leader that's got us this way."

"Possibly; you did very well up there with him you know."

"What? You mean actually behaving myself instead of throwing something into his face."

I couldn't help but giggle; it was totally in Cloak's ability to do that.

"Yeah, something like that," I said, trying not to laugh in case Zanramon was anywhere nearby.

Suddenly someone called to Cloak from across the room. He looked up to see who it was and nodded; he then turned back to me.

"I'll be right back; just got to see what this guy wants to talk to me about," he said.

"Sure, no problem," I smiled.

Cloak quickly gave me a kiss on my cheek and began to walk towards his friend while I waited close to the wall at the back of the room so as not to be in the way of anyone.

* * *

Unfortunately, I wasn't left on my own for too long.

"I thought I saw you among the Titanium crowd," came an all too familiar voice to the right.

"Zanramon," I said with a polite smile.

"I'm glad to see that you haven't forgotten about me, my dear."

"How could I?"

"You know that your secret's out now, don't you?"

"What secret?"

"Your charming male friend just happens to be Cloak; my assumption was correct."

My heart almost skipped a beat; not because Zanramon had actually guessed right, but because he now knew that Cloak and I were together. This couldn't be good.

"So?" I asked, getting a bit defensive.

"Nothing, I just know who it is now," Zanramon replied.

I gave him a probing look; Zanramon was too selfish to just let it lie there, if he wanted something he was going to get it one way or another.

"Ahh, Prime Leader. I hadn't expected you to still be here," said Cloak, as he walked up to Zanramon and I.

"Well, it's good for me to spend some time with the families of my officers," Zanramon replied.

Cloak looked over at me; I have a feeling that he noticed I was uncomfortable with the situation.

"Cal, would you like me to walk you home?" Cloak asked; I'm guessing that he was trying to make it seem like we weren't an item.

"Sure," I replied, as he offered me his arm and I gently took it in my own.

"Before you leave, Cloak; I would like to congratulate you," Zanramon said.

"Didn't you already do that on the stage, sir?" Cloak asked.

"I meant, congratulate you on winning over Miss Swift here; she wouldn't have anything to do with me a week ago because she was waiting for her male friend to return."

"Oh! That. Well,… thank you, sir."

"The best male won I suppose."

Cloak just shrugged.

"Good evening and have a safe walk home." With that Zanramon began to walk away into the crowd.

* * *

Once he was out of earshot, Cloak spoke up.

"Do you get the same suspicious feeling that he's got something planned?" Cloak asked.

"I wish I could say 'no', Cloak, but… I'm afraid I've got the same feeling," I replied, moving closer to him.

"Let's get going; the sooner you get back home, the sooner you can lock the door."

"Same goes for you." With that the pair of us began to make our way through the crowd towards the main entrance to the hall. We were just about to reach the door when Zanner caught up with us.

"Hey, where're you two off to?" he asked, through a mouthful of food.

"Swallow," Cloak instructed.

"Oh! Sorry." Zanner swallowed and then looked at us for an answer.

"Well?" he asked.

"I'm just walking Cal home," Cloak replied.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," I smiled.

"Then why are you two leaving so soon?"

Cloak and I looked at each other, unsure of how to answer this.

"Well?" smiled Zanner; he seemed to be enjoying this.

"We're just trying to get as far away from Zanramon as is possible; he's just making us feel a bit…," I started, but then couldn't find a word to finish my sentence.

"Uneasy," Cloak finished for me.

"Thanks. Yes, uneasy."

"Right. Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Cloaky; you too, Cal," Zanner smiled.

"Sure thing," I smiled.

With that Cloak and I began to make our way out of the hall and back towards our apartments.

* * *

It's been a few months since the prize-giving ceremony and I'm back at my job of looking after Bruno for the All Stars. It's good to be back to some normality, but something just won't go away and it's starting to take it's toll on my nerves. I was sitting on my bed in my room with Bruno at my feet, when one of the All Stars called for me.

"Cal, Cloak's here!" he called.

"Coming!" I called back.

I got up from my bed and began to walk towards the training area with Bruno next to me.

When I opened my door I found the All stars, including Zap, Burn and Cloak waiting for me.

"Hey," he smiled gently.

"Hey," I smiled back, as I walked up to him.

"Take care of her now, Cloak," said Burn, as Cloak put an arm around me and Zap called Bruno over to himself.

"Don't I always?" Cloak asked, with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but I just like to hear you say you will; so that we can hold you to your word."

Cloak chuckled slightly at Burn's reasoning.

"Very well," Cloak smiled.

Burn nodded and smiled at the two of us.

"Shall we get going?" Cloak asked me.

"Sure," I replied.

Cloak nodded and began to lead the way out of the training area.

* * *

We walked in silence most of the way; I was a bit twitchy I'm afraid to say. Any little noise would make me tense up.

"Something bothering you, Cal?" asked Cloak, as he noticed my discontent attitude.

"Well… something has been bothering me for the past few months I'm afraid," I replied.

"Oh, why haven't you mentioned this to me before?"

"I didn't think it was going to last, but it has."

"Well, what is it?"

I sighed as I tried to figure out how to put into words what was bothering me.

"Cal," Cloak pressed when I didn't respond immediately.

"It's… Zanramon," I replied.

"He hasn't been visiting you when I'm not around has he?"

"No, of course not, but… what he said that night…"

"Ahh, I see. You're worried about what he's planning."

"Yes. I have no control over what he might do and… I don't want anything to happen to you." I felt tears welling up in my eyes and a lump forming in my throat.

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about; I can handle anything Zanramon throws my way," Cloak said reassuringly, as he stopped and pulled me closer to him in a hug.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself as close to him as I could.

I felt Cloak gently stroking my back in an attempt to soothe me.

"I sometimes wonder if I should just head back to Earth," I said.

I felt Cloak tense up at the suggestion.

"You okay?" I asked, as I pulled away from him slightly to see his face.

"Go back to Earth?" he asked, looking at me with a mild amount of horror on his face.

"It's just a thought, Cloak."

"And one I would rather not think of."

I couldn't help but smile at him.

"We've been together for too long to think of splitting up now," he continued, gently caressing my hair in his hand.

"I know," I replied.

"You've been on the home world for well over a stellar cycle now."

"That I also know."

"And… you've been in my life for just a little less time that that."

I just nodded.

Cloak looked at me, a slightly unsure and confused look was in his eyes.

"Cloak, it was just a thought; don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere just yet," I said, in an attempt to console him.

Cloak just nodded; he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Let's get going, shall we?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied, as he released me and we began to head towards the park where we used to walk.

* * *

A few days later, Cloak and I went for a walk together again; we were halfway around the park when Cloak spoke up.

"Cal," he started.

"Hmm," I replied.

"Do you want to head back to Earth?"

"I thought I told you not to think of it anymore."

"I know, but… would it make you feel better being back on your own planet?"

I had to think about this; Zanramon's words were beginning to ring fainter and fainter in my mind, but he was a cruel ruler and he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

"Well?" Cloak asked.

"I don't know. I'm not as jumpy as I was a few days ago," I replied.

Cloak just nodded.

"Why do you ask anyway?" I asked.

"There's an alien merchant ship that's coming this way in a few days and after it's done trading here it's on its way to Earth to pick up some herbs and spices," Cloak informed me.

"Oh!"

"Yeah. So, I was thinking, if you wanted to go back, I could send you with them. They're a very reputable bunch and I know they would take care of you."

"I see."

"So, are you sure you don't want to go back?"

I looked up at Cloak; I could see that he didn't want me to leave, but if I decided to he would back me up one hundred percent.

"How long do I have to decide?"

"One orbital cycle."

"Right."

Cloak pulled me closer to him in a side hug.

"I will miss you if you decide to go," he said.

"And I you," I added, hugging him back, as we continued to walk through the park.

* * *

It was nearing the deadline to where I had to decide whether or not to head back to Earth; nothing had gone wrong in the past few weeks so I was leaning towards staying, but, little did I know, I was about to change my mind very quickly.

"Cal!" called Zap from the training area.

"Yeah?" I called back, as I opened my door and found the All Stars rushing about getting ready to go out somewhere.

"Let's get going," he said.

"Where?" I asked, as I walked out of my room with Bruno next to me.

"It's Cloak; he's in the hospital."

My stomach tied itself into a knot and my heart skipped a beat.

"What?! What for?!" I asked.

"We don't know; we just received the call a few minutes ago," Mixx replied, clipping Bruno's lead onto his collars.

It wasn't long before the whole All star team, Burn, Bruno and myself were out of the training room and on our way to the hospital.

* * *

When we got there, we were admitted into Cloak's ward. The seven of us briskly walked over to Cloak's bedside; we found him lying there almost motionless, only his chest was moving, but even that was minimal. He had the Triceraton equivalent of an oxygen mask over his snout. I touched his hand and he felt cold.

"Cloak," I said, trying to get a response out of him.

Suddenly I heard one of the guys sniffing behind me; I looked back and found Monza sniffing the air suspiciously.

"Something wrong, Monza?" I asked.

As I asked him the question his eyes widened as he recognised the smell. He pushed past the others and felt Cloak's hand; he then pulled the mask off of Cloak's snout and put it to his own. He soon started to cough.

"Oxygen!" he coughed.

"Oxygen? But that's… poisonous to Triceratons!" I said, now more worried than ever about Cloak's condition.

Monza was still coughing as he turned the handle on the tank that was supplying the oxygen.

"Burn, go get someone to change this and hurry!" Monza commanded in-between coughs.

"Right on it," nodded Burn, as he stormed off to find someone and no doubt give an earful to the head nurse and doctor of the hospital.

"Until they arrive we've got to find a way to get some nitrogen and sulphur into his lungs," said Monza, finally recovering from his coughing fit.

"And the only way to do that is CPR," said Daz.

They all turned to look at me.

"Well don't look at me. I'm far too small to get any substantial amount into his lungs and besides my air filter let's me breath oxygen not nitrogen and sulphur," I said.

"Oh right! Forgot about that," said Daz.

"Fine; he would no doubt prefer to find you, but he'll just have to make do with me," said Monza, as he took his place next to Cloak.

I tried to smile at the comment, but I was too worried about Cloak.

* * *

After a few tense moments, Cloak began to cough; Monza backed away and Cloak sat up.

"Sheesh! Get some breath mints will you, Monza?" Cloak coughed.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the group.

"Cloak, you're all right," I smiled, as I walked up to him.

"Cal! What are you doing here?" he asked, as he watched me walk up to him.

"Like I'm going to stand around back at the training room while you're in hospital."

Cloak smiled, but suddenly gasped in pain and gripped his side.

"Cloak!" I gasped.

Monza helped him lie back down.

"It's nothing, Sweetheart, just… my wound acting up," he said through gritted teeth.

"Wound?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What happened?" asked Xiote.

"Shot."

"Shot?!" the rest of us exclaimed.

"Yeah. Don't know by who though; they came from behind."

"Obviously not very good; they didn't kill you," said Monza.

Cloak just snorted.

"I don't think that was their aim," he said.

"Then what do you think their aim was?" I asked, as I put my hand onto his.

"I don't know; I don't know." Cloak lifted his hand slightly and wrapped it around mine.

Just then we heard Burn returning with some poor soul who he was giving a real earful to.

"Seriously! You're supposed to support life! Not shorten it!" he ranted.

"Burn?" Cloak asked.

"Burn," the All stars and I replied in unison.

We turned to see a very frazzled Triceraton nurse walked into the room with Burn close behind; she was pushing a trolley with a tank on it.

"Oh! You got him resuscitated I see," said Burn, as he caught sight of Cloak looking at him.

"I'll just leave this here in case you need it," said the nurse, as she took her leave.

Burn narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk out.

"Hospital staff ain't what it used to be back in the good old days," he said.

We all just smiled at Burn.

"How you feeling, Cloak?" he asked, as he walked up to Cloak's bedside.

"I've been better," Cloak replied.

"Any idea as to who did this to you?"

Cloak shook his head.

"They came from behind; shot him in the side, but obviously not fatally," explained Monza.

"What do you think this guy's playing at?" Burn asked.

"I don't think Cloak's assailant was 'playing at' anything. I think he was hired," I said, tying up several ideas I had in my head as to why someone shot Cloak.

"Hired?" the others asked in unison.

"By who?" asked Zap.

"The only one I know who might want me out of the way would be Zanramon," said Cloak.

"The Prime Leader wouldn't stoop so low… would he?"

Cloak and I just looked at each other; we both knew how low Zanramon could go and this certainly wasn't his lowest.

Just then a Triceraton walked into the ward.

"Good day," he said, tipping his hat to us.

"Good day," we chorused back.

"I've got a note for a Mr. Cloak Titanium."

"That would be me," said Cloak, trying to sit up.

The Triceraton walked up to Cloak, handed him a small piece of paper and then left.

"What's up?" asked Zap, as Cloak unfolded the paper and read the message.

"Cal's right; it was Zanramon," Cloak replied.

"How do you know that?" asked Burn.

"Who else would send a note saying, 'keep clear of her or you won't see the end of the week'?"

The room went silent; no one knew what to do or say.

"There's only one thing to do then," I said.

"What?" the others asked.

"Cloak, when does that merchant ship come in?"

"Sweetheart, no. We… we'll find another way," he said.

"Cloak, you know what Zanramon's capable of. We can't report this to anyone; you can't fight the Prime Leader. This is the only way."

Cloak looked away from me; I could see on his face that he was trying to think of an alternative course of action.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but…," I started and then sighed; it was going to be difficult for both of us.

"What are you two talking about?" Burn asked.

"There's a merchant ship coming in in a day or so; after it's done dealing here it heads off to Earth, Cal's home planet," explained Cloak.

"Oh! I see, you're planning on going home on that," said Zap.

"If I'm not here, Zanramon will have no reason to harm Cloak," I said.

Cloak looked at me; his eyes seemed to be begging me to reconsider.

"But what if Zanramon doesn't relent? What if he just continues to do harm?" asked Monza.

"I don't know, Monza; I… don't know." I hugged myself, as a feeling of helplessness crept over me. Cloak beckoned for me to come closer; I walked up to his side, as he hauled himself into a reclining position and put his free arm around me in a hug. I rested my head against his so that we were eye to eye.

"It's our best bet I suppose," he said, rubbing his head against mine.

I just stared into his eyes; this was going to one of the last chances I was going to be able to do so.

"Okay, so… what's the plan?" asked Zap.

"Cal will head back to Earth on the merchant ship and… we'll see what happens once she's gone," replied Cloak, as he and I moved away from each other a little bit.

"Right," chorused the others.

Suddenly something dawned on me and I quickly walked out of the ward to see if I could find a nurse.

"Cal?" I heard Cloak ask behind me; I saw a Triceraton nurse not too far down the hall and walked over to her.

"Nurse," I said.

She turned her head to look at me.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Is the male Triceraton in the ward back there well enough to be checked out?" I asked.

"Yes, but we would like to keep him over night to make sure there are no complications."

"I'm afraid that that will not be possible."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I believe that it is best for him to be checked out and sent home; for his own safety."

She gave me a queer look and so I explained how we thought that there was someone out to get him, not mentioning any names though.

"Oh, I see," she said.

"So, can we?" I asked.

"Of course, but we want him back tomorrow morning for a check up."  
"I'm sure that can be arranged."

She nodded and then went to fetch the necessary paper work, while I went back to Cloak's ward.

* * *

Two days later, after spending an almost heartbreaking evening the previous day packing my duffle bag to take home, Cloak, the All stars, Burn, Bruno and I were standing on the landing platform next to the merchant's ship. Cloak had arranged for them to take me back to Earth and now we were just waiting for them to finish loading their cargo.

"Two trigons," said Cloak, as he caught sight of one of the merchants waving from the top of the ramp.

"I better get my goodbyes over and done with then," I said, turning to the All Stars.

"Take care you guys," I said, hugging first Monza, then Daz, then Xiote, then Mixx and finally Zap.

"We're gonna miss you something awful," Zap said holding me as close as he could.

"And I you," I replied; trying to keep the lump in my throat at bay.

Once Zap released me I walked over to Burn and gave him a hug goodbye.

"Don't let anyone push you around now and if you're ever in the system again… look us up," he said, as he released me from our embrace.

"Will do," I smiled.

Bruno whined and butted my hand with his middle head.

"See you, boy; be good for the guys, okay?" I said to him.

Bruno just licked my cheek; once with each head. I tried hard to keep the tears at bay and they just and only just obeyed.

Finally I turned to Cloak; he had gone through his check up the day before and been declared healthy enough to be out on his own again. I walked up to him and he quickly pulled me close to himself; I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Take care," he said, quietly.

"You too," I said equally as quietly.

Suddenly I found our lips locked together; this was no doubt going to be the last time we would have contact with each other unless Earth's technology seriously got an upgrade. As our lips parted, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked back and there stood one of the merchants.

"Time to go," he said.

I just nodded, as Cloak and I released each other. I picked up my duffle bag and began to walk towards the merchant ship with the alien merchant by my side. When I reached the top of the ramp, I looked back at my friends one last time. I gave them one last wave and then walked into the ship just as the ramp was brought up and the thrusters ignited.

* * *

It wasn't long before the merchant ship arrived back on Earth; they let me out in my home town and then went on their way into the country to a farm where they had a good deal in spices and herbs. I walked back to my house and, needless to say, got a very relieved and happy response from my family; I had only been gone a week because of the time difference (don't ask me how that works; if Donatello really exists maybe I'll get the chance to meet him and ask him how it works). Of course they wanted to know what happened to me and so I told them my story. Surprisingly they believed me and were very grateful to Cloak and the All stars for taking care of me; not to mention Carix, Darix, Augie and his wife. I was home now, among people I knew, away from danger and out of the way so that the Triceraton I loved wouldn't be hurt, but… my heart still ached for Cloak. I wonder if I will ever see him again; I suppose only time will tell.

.The end.


End file.
